Natural foods "cocktails" may treat cancer

By Sheilah Downey - sheilahd at foodconsumer dot org

Combining natural food compounds with traditional chemotherapy drugs may play a significant role in not only preventing but treating certain cancers, according to research from the Linus Pauling Institute.

A recent study found that chlorophyllin, a derivative of chlorophyll, was 10 times more potent in killing colon cancer cells than hydroxyurea, the common chemotherapy drug.

"We conclude that chlorophyllin has the potential to be effective in the clinical setting, when used alone or in combination with currently available cancer therapeutic agents," wrote researchers.

The study found that chlorophyllin kills cancer cells by blocking the same cellular divisions as hydroxurea but in a different way. Chlorophyllin is a water-soluable derivative of chorophyll, the green pigment found in most plants and many foods that makes photosynthesis possible.

Researchers hope that mixing "cocktails" of the natural food products with conventional cancer drugs will enhance the effectiveness of cancer therapies, leading to less toxic treatments.

"Most chemotherapeutic approaches to cancer try to target cancer cells specifically and do something that slows or stops their cell growth process," said Dr. Ron Dashwood, of the Cancer Chemoprotection Program at the Institute. "We're now identifying such mechanisms of action for natural compounds, including dietary agents."

Specifically, researchers found that doses of chlorophyllin caused the colon cancer cells to be side-tracked. They were spending more time in the "synthesis phase," in which their DNA is duplicated, than spreading the cancer.

This disruption started a process that ultimately led to cell death, according to researchers.

Chlorophyllin is inexpensive and animal and human studies suggest that it can be ingested at relatively high levels without toxicity. Dashwood said that chlorophyllin is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, so that levels needed for therapeutic purposes would still have to be studied.

Other dietary cancer fighters have shown promising results. Organic selenium, found naturally in garlic and Brazil nuts, was studied for its role in killing prostate and colon cancer cells.

A form of selenium was converted in cancer cells to metabolites that acted as "HDAC inhibitors" -- a process in which silenced tumor suppressor genes are reactivated, triggering cell death.

"There's significant promise in the use of natural products for combined cancer therapies," said Dashwood. "These are areas that merit continued research."

The organic selenium research was published by LPI researchers in the journals Carcinogenesis and Cancer Prevention Research with support from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.