Phytochemical Alliin Kills Colorectal Cancer Cells In Vitro

By Kyle J. Norton

Colorectal cancer is a chronic and medical condition caused by irregular cell growth in the colon or rectum.

Most cases of colorectal cancer start in the alternation of cell DNA on the surface of the inner lining of the colon or rectum before penetrating deeper into the organs.

Rectal cancer is a slowest growing cancer. Therefore, most cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed at the advanced stage in the older population.

According to the statistic provided by the Canadian Cancer Society, Colorectal cancer is the 2nd most commonly diagnosed cancer in Canada, besides non-melanoma skin cancer.

In 2017,  over 26,000 Canadians were diagnosed with colorectal cancer representing 13% of all new cancer cases. Colorectal cancer also causes the death of over 9,000 Canadian, accounting for 12% of all cancer deaths.

In general, the 5-year survival rate for people with colorectal cancer is 65%. However, the 5-year survival rate of localized colorectal cancer is about 90%.

Although there are a number of risk factors associated with the onset of colorectal cancer, some researchers suggested the increased obesity in the general population induced colorectal cancer over the past few decades may have a strong implication by the promotion of Western diet.

Dr. Aleksandrova K wrote, "Current research indicates that there is a moderate but consistently reported association between general obesity (as determined by BMI) and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality".

And, "The relative risk associated with obesity is higher for cancer of the colon than for cancer of the rectum and it is higher in men than in women. By contrast, abdominal adiposity (as determined by waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio) is similarly strongly associated with colon cancer in men and women, suggesting that abdominal adiposity is a more important risk factor for colon cancer than general adiposity, at least in women".

Alliin (S-allyl-L-cysteine-S-oxide) is a phytochemical compound sulfoxide,. a derivative of the amino acid cysteine, belonging to the class of sulfur compounds, found abundantly in fresh garlic and onion.

With an aim to find potential and natural ingredients for the treatment of colorectal cancer, one among the most common cancers in the world and a major cause of cancer-related deaths, researchers examined the s-allyl-l-cysteine-sulfoxide (SACS)/alliin against overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

The organosulfur compounds showed an interaction ability in the active region of the EGFR gene, according to silico molecular docking studies and in vitro validation, leading to the inhibition of EGFR gene in facilitating the cancer cell growth and proliferation.

In other words,  s-allyl-l-cysteine-sulfoxide (SACS)/alliin prevented overexpression of the EGFR gene in the promotion of tumor initiation.

According to the results from the epidemiological studies in China, in the investigated a garlic powder preparation, a garlic extract (reported as 8-10% L(+)-alliin enriched), and a combination anticancer activity.
* Garlic powder failed to inhibit the growth of human colorectal carcinoma Caco2 cells at concentrations of up to 1000 micrograms/ml.

* Garlic extract, in which the alliin content was highly enriched was also unable to inhibit the growth of these cells.

* However, the garlic extract supplemented with garlic powder (to 10% final concentration) in a concentration-dependent clearly inhibited tumor cell growth with IC50 values of 480 micrograms/ml in the Caco-2 cells.

Additional analysis of the aforementioned results, researchers found that the efficacy of in the inhibition of colorectal cancer cell was attributed to the breakdown products of alliin, such as allicin or polysulfides, rather than alliin itself.

These results confirmed by examining the addition of an alliinase system (garlic powder) to an alliin enriched preparation without alliinase (garlic extract)  potentiated the effects.

Taken altogether, alliin used alone or combined with other herbal medicines may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of alliin in the form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) EGFR gene regulation in colorectal cancer cells by garlic phytocompounds with special emphasis on S-Allyl-L-Cysteine Sulfoxide by Roy N1, Nazeem PA2, Babu TD3, Abida PS2, Narayanankutty A3, Valsalan R2, Valsala PA2, Raghavamenon AC. (PubMed)
(2) The effects of garlic preparations against human tumor cell proliferation by Siegers CP1, Steffen B, Röbke A, Pentz R. (PubMed)
(3) Obesity and colorectal cancer by Aleksandrova K1, Nimptsch K, Pischon T. (PubMed)