Thursday Spet 29, 2016 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study suggests that drinking beet root juice can not only help reduce the irreversible cardio-toxicity of chemotherapy drug doxorubicin on healthy cells, but also increase the efficacy of the drug against breast cancer cells in vitro.
Earlier studies have shown that beet rook juice with high amounts of nitrate and antioxidants can help prevent the development of cancer (or functions as a chemo-preventative agent).
In the study, both adult rat cardiomyocytes and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were treated with beet root juice in doses of 0.5, 5, 50, 250 and 500 ug per mL. Some cells were also treated with doxorubicin.
Cell death in cardiomyocytes was reduced but increased in breast cancer cells 24 hours after co-treatment with beet root juice and doxorubicin.
The co-treatment decreased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in healthy cardiomyocytes and increased ROS in breast cancer cells.
The co-treatment also significantly reduced the cell viability in breast cancer cells. Beet root juice increased doxorubicin-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells.
The study concludes "lower concentrations of BRJ (beet root juice) with DOX (doxorubicin) represented the most effective combination of cardioprotection and chemoprevention."
"These findings provide insight into the possible cardioprotective ability of BRJ in cancer patients treated with anthracycline chemotherapeutic drugs."
Comments