Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals

Tuesday, 25 June 2019

Phytochemical 3,3'-Diindolylmethane, the Anti Nasopharyngeal Cancer Functional Supplement

By Kyle J. Norton

The nasopharynx is the upper part of the pharynx, connecting with the nasal cavity above the soft palate that allows a person to breathe through the nose.

Nasopharyngeal cancer is a medical condition characterized by cells growth irregularly and disorderly in the tissues of the nasopharynx.

Most cases of nasopharyngeal cancer start in the cells on the surface of the inner lining of the nasopharynx. The early stage of nasopharyngeal cancer is asymptomatic due to the very small size of the tumor.

However, at the advanced stage, the oversize may suppress the nearby nerves and blood vessels, leading to severe throat pain and symptoms of a lump in your neck blood in the saliva, bloody discharged from your nose, particularly, persistent nasal congestion or ringing in your ears, accompanied with the general symptoms shared with other cancers.

According to the statistics provided by the American cancer society, nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is quite rare in the United States). The risk of cancer is less than one case for every 100,000 people.
Epidemiologically, some patients at this stage may also experience symptoms of frequent ear infections, hearing loss and headaches.

If you have some of the aforementioned symptoms, please check with your doctor to rule out the possibility.

The exact causes of nasopharyngeal cancer are unknown. Gender, family history, ethnicity, where you live, poor diet, infected by the Epstein-Barr virus are some of the prevalent factors of nasopharyngeal cancer.

On finding potential and plant-based compound for the treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer, researchers examined the antitumor effects of DIM in a long-term low-dose manner in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

The study included NPC cells induced by 20 µmol/l DIM for over a month.

During the experiment, the injection showed significantly reduced the cell metastasis in vivo.

Furthermore, according to assays, DIM significantly reduced the proliferation and migration of without inducing apoptosis.

Long-term dose administration also exerted antitumor activity by altering the signaling pathways which are mutated in human cancer and protein associated with the anti-apoptosis, proliferation and cell survivals.

Moreover, in order to reveal more information about DIM antitumor efficacy, researchers launched an investigation of the pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects of 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) in various tumor cell types.

DIM-induced apoptosis and inhibited proliferation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by inhibiting the activity of telomerase which is crucial for the survival of cancer cells, in a dose‑dependent manner.

The mRNA and protein expression of hTERT which is a catalytic component of human telomerase and used as a biomarker of a tumor was inhibited following treatment with DIM without causing a change of telomerase RNA (hTR).

In other words, DIM-induced apoptosis and inhibited proliferation were attributed to its activity on telomerase by targeting the expression of hTERT.

The results indicated that DIM inhibited nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by shortening the telomeres in a concentration‑dependent manner.

Taken altogether, 3,3'-Diindolylmethane may be considered a supplement for the prevention and treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of 3,3'-diindolylmethane in form of supplement should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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) ERK signaling mediates long-term low concentration 3,3'-diindolylmethaneinhibited nasopharyngeal carcinoma growth and metastasis: An in vitro and in vivo study by Li F1, Chen C1, Chen SM1, Xiao BK1, Tao ZZ. (PubMed)
(2) Pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects of 3,3'-diindolylmethane in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells via downregulation of telomerase activity by Li F1, Xu Y2, Chen C1, Chen SM2, Xiao BK1, Tao ZZ. (PubMed)

Cucumber, the Best Food to Promote Heart Health

By Kyle J. Norton

The heart formed part of the circulatory system is a muscular organ that pumps blood through the blood vessels to nourish the body tissues and organs.

Most cases of heart dysfunction are associated with the reduced function of the heart muscle, leading to reduce blood flow that facilitates heart failure and the backup of blood into the lungs or rest of the body.

According to the statistics provided by the US government, heart disease is a leading cause of death in the US. Over 600,000 died of heart disease, every year including 370,000 people died of coronary heart disease (CHD), accounting to 1 in 4 deaths.

Most common symptoms of heart disease are poor appetite, weight loss, shortness of breath, sudden collapse, blood clots and stunted growth found in children.

If you have experienced some of the aforementioned symptoms, please check with your doctor to rule the risk of heart disease.

By following a healthy dietary intake, physical activity, weight management, smoking cessation, blood pressure control, and lipid management, most cases of heart disease are preventable.

Dr. Melanie Warziski Turk, in the evaluation of the risk of heart disease in women, wrote, "Because heart disease is frequently preventable, increasing awareness of personal risk and preventative measures is a key element of healthcare for women".

And, "Nurse clinicians can evaluate, educate, and counsel women regarding their risk for this pervasive disease and promote behavior changes that will decrease that risk. Research evidence supports that lifestyle behaviors are the cornerstone of heart disease prevention".

The cucumber plant is a species of Cucumis Sativus, belongings to the family Cucurbitaceae and native to Western Asia. It is a creeping vine with roots in the ground and grows up with the support of frames.

With an aim to find a natural compound for the improvement of heart health, researchers investigated the therapeutic impact of cucurbitacin I on the heart.

According to the tested assay, phenylephrine (PE)-induced muscle cell enlargement and cardiac hypertrophy was inhibited by the pretreatment of the cardiomyocytes with cucurbitacin I.

Furthermore, cucurbitacin I protect the heart connective tissues against the onset of cardiac fibrosis.

More importantly, cucurbitacin I also significantly expressed the heart muscle protective effect by inhibiting the factors associated with the increase of blood pressure.

In order to reveal more information about cucumber anti-cardiac hypertrophy, a leading cause of heart failure, researchers evaluated cucurbitacin B anti-hypertrophy and anti-fibrosis potential both in vitro and in vivo.

Selected mice induced cardiac hypertrophy after 1 week of surgery, were given cucurbitacin B treatment for 4 weeks.

At the end of the experiment, cucurbitacin B demonstrated a strong anti- hypertrophy and anti-fibrosis ability evidenced by decreased heart weight, myocardial cell cross-sectional area, and interstitial fibrosis.

Additionally, the levels of heart systolic and diastolic abnormalities induced by the surgery was also moralized by the application of cucurbitacin B.

Furthermore, gene expressions induced hypertrophic and fibrotic markers, reserved microvascular density in pressure overload-induced hypertrophic mice were also normalized by the injection cucurbitacin B.

Taken altogether, cucumber and its bioactive compound cucurbitacin I and B (CuB) may be used for the improvement of heart health, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca
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) Cucurbitacin I Attenuates Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophy via Inhibition of Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CCN2) and TGF- β/Smads Signalings by Moon Hee Jeong,# 1 Shang-Jin Kim,# 2 Hara Kang, 3 Kye Won Park, 4 Woo Jin Park, 1Seung Yul Yang, 5 and Dong Kwon Yang. (PMC)
(2) Cucurbitacin B Protects Against Pressure Overload Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy by Yang Xiao, Zheng Yang, Qing-Qing Wu and Xiao-Han Jiang. (Research Gate)
(3) Cardiac Health: Primary Prevention of Heart Disease in Women by Melanie Warziski Turk, PhD, MSN, RN,a Patricia K. Tuite, MSN, RN,b and Lora E. Burke, PhD, MPH, FAHA, FAAN. (PMC)

Healthy Food Turmeric Protects the Skin Damage Against Aging

By Kyle J. Norton

Skin aging is a natural process that can not be stopped. However, there are some people have a younger looking skin compared to their biological age.

The evidence of skin aging can be visible by increasing wrinkles and sagging skin.

Skin is the largest organ in the human body. The skin not only shields us against the invasion of foreigner pathogens but also serves as the third detoxed organ besides the liver and kidney.

Additionally, the skin also protects the skeletons and internal organs against the mechanical impacts and pressure, variations in temperature, micro-organisms, radiation, and chemicals.

However, when skin ages, it also reduces the function of the aforementioned protection as seen in the elderly.

Besides biological causes of skin aging, long-term exposure to sunlight, particularly UVB is one of the major culprit associated with damages of elastin, leading to wrinkles, sagging skin that loses stability to rebound from the stretch.

According to the free radical theory of aging, free radical bombardment overtime can cause oxidative damage to the enzymes, other protein, unsaturated fatty acid, phospholipids, DNA and RNA, leading widespread cell damage including the skin cells after attacking the lipid bilayers of the cell walls.

In other words, according to the theory, free radical cause internal and external cell damage, that lead to aging cells.

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to tropical South Asia.

The herb has been used in traditional medicine as anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, colorant, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and to treat flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

On finding a natural and effective compound for the protection against skin aging, researchers examined the effects of curcumin in acute and chronic injury: burns and photo-damaged skin.

In photo-damaged skin, injection of curcumin inhibited the phosphorylase kinase (PhK) which plays an important role in promoting photocarcinogenesis and skin damage through activation of NF-kB-dependent signaling pathways.

In other words, curcumin inhibited phosphorylase kinase (PhK) in the induction of the apoptosis of photo-damaged cells, thus promoting the survival of precancerous cells and allowing for subsequent tumor transformation.

In the treatment of skin injury, application of a curcumin gel showed rapid healing of burns, with little or no residual scarring.

Furthermore, the curcumin gel was also beneficial in the repair of photo-damaged skin, including pigmentary changes, solar elastosis, thinning of the skin with telangiectasia (actinic poikiloderma), and premalignant lesions such as actinic keratoses, dysplastic nevi, and advanced solar lentigines, but the repair process takes many months.

In order to know more information about turmeric anti-photoaging activity, researchers looked into anti-skin aging due to intrinsic (chronologic) and extrinsic aging (photo-aging) of plants from 35 families.

Curcumin found in turmeric not only showed potency in the inhibition of tyrosinase, hyaluronidase, elastase, and collagenase associated with skin aging induced by UV radiation but also scavenges free radicals from skin cells, prevents trans-epidermal water loss and contributes to protecting skin from wrinkles.

In summary, curcumin protects the skin against aging intrinsically (chronologic) and extrinsically.

Taken altogether, turmeric processed a high amount of bioactive compound curcumin may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of skin aging, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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) Signaling pathways targeted by curcumin in acute and chronic injury: burns and photo-damaged skin by Heng MC. (PubMed)
(2) Potential role of natural compounds against skin aging by Tundis R, Loizzo MR, Bonesi M, Menichini F. (PubMed)

Healthy Legume Navy Bean Induces Colon Cancer Cell Apoptosis in Vivo

By Kyle J. Norton

The colon is the 2nd part of the digestive system found in the large bowel which consists of the colon and rectum, with a function that absorbs water from the small bowel contents and breaks down certain materials in the feces into substances in which some of them are reabsorbed and reused by the body.

Colon cancer is a chronic condition characterized by irregular cell growth in the tissues of the colon tissues due to the alternation of the cell DNA.

Most cases of colon cancer begin in the cell on the surface of the inner lining of the colon tissue, before penetrating into deeper layers to form a tumor.

Colon cancer is relatively very common, slowly growing and progressing in a predictable way.

Together with rectal cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in Western countries, including the US and Canada.

According to the statistics, the lifetime risk of developing colon cancer is about one in 23. Colon cancer accounts for 71% of all cases of colorectal cancer. The overall 5 years survival rate of localized colon cancer is 90%.

Conventionally, the treatment of colon cancer is totally depending on the stage and grade of cancer, including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy.

* If the cancer is only limited to the mucosa such as a single layer of epithelial cells, a layer of connective tissue, and a thin muscle layer than it can be cured in most cases.

* If cancer has spread through the muscular layer of the bowel or the lymph note, the curable rate is lower.

* If cancer has spread to other organs, the curable rate is even lower. Grade of the cancer is calculated dependently to how aggressive cancer.

The small, white navy bean, also called pea bean or haricot, popular in both dry and green forms, is very popular in Britain and the US, native to Peru. It is now grown and consumed across the world, due to their numerous health benefits.

On finding a natural compound for the treatment of colon cancer, scientists examined the protective effects of cooked navy bean consumption in the risk of cancer.

The experiment included 160 male obese ob/ob mice randomly assigned to cooked navy beans (whole beans), the insoluble fraction (bean residue) or soluble fraction of the 60% (vol:vol) ethanol extract of cooked navy beans (bean extract), or a modified AIN-93G diet (16.6% fat including 12.9% lard) as control diet after 2 azoxymethane injections.

Navy bean treated group showed a significant reduction of numbers of mice with dysplasia, adenomas, or adenocarcinomas (whole beans 54%, bean residue 81%, and bean extract 91%) compared to control.

Furthermore, focal hyperplasia was found in fewer mice on each of the 3 bean diets percent reduction from control (whole bean 56%, bean residue 67%, and bean extract 87%).

Based on the results, Dr. Bobe G, the lead scientist, after taking other factors into account wrote, "both the soluble and the insoluble fraction of the extract contribute to the cancer-protective effect of cooked navy beans".

Moreover, in colon carcinogenesis in carcinogen-induced genetically obese mice randomly placed on one of four diets (control, whole navy bean, bean residue fraction, or bean extract fraction) for 26 to 28 wk, researchers found that bean fed mice showed a significant effect in the protection against the numbers of genetic alternation and pro-inflammatory cytokines induced the early onset of colon changes.

Dr. Mentor-Marcel RA, the lead researcher said, "Changes in a subset of inflammation-associated serum proteins and colon gene expression may serve as response indicators of dietary attenuation of colon carcinogenesis".

Taken altogether, navy bean used alone or combined with conventional medicine may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of colon cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Inflammation-associated serum and colon markers as indicators of dietary attenuation of colon carcinogenesis in ob/ob mice by Mentor-Marcel RA1, Bobe G, Barrett KG, Young MR, Albert PS, Bennink MR, Lanza E, Colburn NH. (PubMed)
(2) Dietary cooked navy beans and their fractions attenuate colon carcinogenesis in azoxymethane-induced ob/ob mice by Bobe G1, Barrett KG, Mentor-Marcel RA, Saffiotti U, Young MR, Colburn NH, Albert PS, Bennink MR, Lanza E. (PubMed)
(3) Bowel (Colorectal ) Cancer by Kyle J. Norton

Monday, 24 June 2019

Healthy Food Turmeric, the Potential Adjunctive Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer

By Kyle J. Norton

The lung located near the backbone on either side of the heart is a vital organ that inhales oxygen from the air then transporting them to the bloodstream to nourish the body cells need and exhales carbon dioxide from the bloodstream.

Lung cancer is a chronic condition caused by the alternation of cells DNA that starts in the cells on the surface of the inner lining of the lung tissue. Most common form of primary lung cancers is derived from epithelial cells.

According to the statistics, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. 1 in 16 people in the US will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime. Every year approximately over 220,000 people in the US are diagnosed with lung cancer this year.

Believe it or not, 60% to 65% of all new lung cancer diagnosed are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers.

Depending on the types and aggressiveness of cancer cells originated, lung cancer can be classified into

* Non-small cell lung cancer
Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type of lung cancer that usually grows and spreads methodically and predictably, including
* Squamous-cell carcinoma is often found in an outer area of the lung,

* Large-cell carcinoma is found in the center of the lung by an air tube.

* Adenocarcinoma found in any part of the lung.

* Small cell lung cancer
Small cell lung cancer is a fast-growing type of lung cancer, that spread quickly to distant parts of the body in a relatively early stage, including
* Small cell carcinoma in which the cells are small, round and resemble oats.

* Mixed small cell/large cell carcinoma in which malignant tumor found in combining of components of small cell lung carcinoma with large cell lung carcinoma.

* Combined small cell carcinoma, a malignant tumor is found in combining a component of small cell lung carcinoma with components of non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Most common symptoms of lung cancer are shortness of breath, cough-up blood, pain, fluid in the chest, wheezing and hoarseness accompanied by general symptoms shared by other types of cancer.

Turmeric is a perennial plant in the genus Curcuma, belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, native to tropical South Asia.

According to the tested assays,

* Curcumin can be an effective adjunct in treating solid organ tumors by activation of tumors suppressive genes such as p53, DNA protective gene, and gene-associated with cell growth and apoptosis

* Curcumin protects the lung cell integrity against the pathway associated with the pro0duction of proinflammatory cytokines.

* Curcumin stimulates the transcription factors associated with the growth inhibition and apoptosis in tumor cells.

These results strongly suggested that curcumin can be adjunctive chemotherapy to augment currently available treatment protocols, that decreased side effects and toxicity without compromising therapeutic efficacy.

Dr. the lead scientists, after taking into account of co and confounder wrote, " Curcumin is one such potential candidate, and this review presents an overview of the current in vitro and in vivo studies of curcumin in lung cancer"

Taken altogether, turmeric processed abundantly bioactive compound curcumin may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of lung cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Natural Medicine for Fatty Liver And Obesity Reversal - The Revolutionary Findings To Achieve Optimal Health And Lose Weight

How To Get Rid Of Eye Floaters
Contrary To Professionals Prediction, Floaters Can Be Cured Naturally

Ovarian Cysts And PCOS Elimination
Holistic System In Existence That Will Show You How To
Permanently Eliminate All Types of Ovarian Cysts Within 2 Months

Back to Kyle J. Norton Homepage http://kylejnorton.blogspot.ca

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) Curcumin and lung cancer--a review by Mehta HJ1, Patel V, Sadikot RT. (PubMed)
(2) Curcumin and Lung Cancer: the Role of microRNAs by Lelli D1, Pedone C1, Majeed M2, Sahebkar A. (PubMed)
(3) Lung Cancer by Kyle J. Norton

Phytochemical Betacyanins Inhibit Proliferation of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cell in Vitro

By Kyle J. Norton

Leukemia is a medical condition caused by an abnormal increase of white blood cells produced by the bone marrow and/or the lymphatic system. Depending on the malignant granulocytes or lymphocytes, leukemia is classified into myeloid or lymphoblastic leukemia.

Bone marrow is soft tissue inside the hollow center of the major bone, including spine, pelvis, underarm, leg...

Chronic leukemia is a disease characterized by a slow but still excessive build up of relatively immature abnormal white blood cells.

Chronic leukemia has a tendency to spread slowly to other parts of the body through the bloodstream and/or lymphatic system.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) is a condition of slow growth and spreading of abnormal granulocytes. In CML, granulocytes have become abnormal and growth uncontrollably in the bone marrow and/or lymphatic system and appeared less immature in the bloodstream.

According to the statistics provided by the American Cancer Society, in the US approximately 8,990 new cases will be diagnosed with CML, including 5,250 in men and 3,740 in women and 1,140 people will die of CML, including 660 men and 480 women in 2019.

Besides the constitutional symptoms, such as
* Fatigue
Fatigue is a result of not enough red blood cell to transport oxygen to the body cells.

* Infections
As white blood no longer function normally in fighting against foreign invasions such as virus and bacteria.

* Unintentional weight loss
Weight loss unintentionally of over 10% has been found in patients of CML.

* Loss of appetite
It is one of the general symptoms accompanied by cancers.

* Bone and joint pain
It is a result of increased bone marrow pressure due to an excess build-up of white blood cells.

* Fever
It is a result of infection

* Abnormal blood bleeding and bruising
They are the results of abnormal blood's platelets.

8. Excessive sweating, night sweats
Night sweats are an early symptom of some cancers, especially in CML.

CML also induces specific symptoms such as
* Enlarged lymph nodes, spleen
In CML lymph nodes can swell more than 1cm in children and 2 cm in adult.

* Becoming too full easily is one of the specific symptoms of ALL due to enlarged lymph nodes or spleen pressing onto the abdomen.

Betacyanins are phytochemicals in the class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments, belongings to the group of Betalains, found abundantly in beets, chard, etc.

In the urgency to find a potential compound for the treatment of leukemia, researchers examined the antiproliferative effects of betanin, a principle betacyanin pigment, isolated from the fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica on chronic myeloid leukemia.

On human chronic myeloid leukemia cell line (K562), application of betanin decreased the proliferation of K562 cells at a dose and time-dependent with an IC(50) of 40 microM.

According to the tested analysis, the anti-proliferative activity of betanin was associated with chromatin condensation, cell shrinkage and membrane blebbing.

In other words, cells treated with betanin showed a fragmentation pattern typical for apoptotic cells.

Particularly, at 40 microM betanin, the phytochemical compound induced 28.4% cells cycle arrest in sub G0/G1 phase.

Moreover, treatment with betanin not only activated the proteins such as PARP cleavage associated with pro-apoptosis but also inhibited the proteins such as Bcl-2 involved in anti-apoptosis.

Based on the findings, Dr. Sreekanth D, the lead scientist wrote, "betanin induces apoptosis in K562 cells through the intrinsic pathway and is mediated by the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol, and PARP cleavage".

Taken altogether, betacyanins processed abundantly bioactive compound betanin may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Sources
(1) Betanin a betacyanin pigment purified from fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica induces apoptosis in human chronic myeloid leukemia Cell line-K562 by Sreekanth D1, Arunasree MK, Roy KR, Chandramohan Reddy T, Reddy GV, Reddanna P. (PubMed)
(2) Myelogenous leukemia - Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) by Kyle J. Norton

Whole Food Tomato Modulates Immune Function to the Body Needs

By Kyle J. Norton

The immune system plays a critical role in the body's defense against infectious organisms and other pathogens.

The immune function can be classified into subsystems, including the innate and adaptive responses.

* The innate responses are the general response of the immune system that can act quickly to destroy invaders, regardless of types of organism.

* The adaptive responses develop slowly on first exposure to a new pathogen slowly. In some cases, it may take a week or so before the responses are effective.

However, due to the quick division of bacteria, (a single bacterium with a doubling time of one hour can produce almost 20 million progeny), therefore, our body is totally depending to the innate immune system to destroy the invader in the first critical hours and days of exposure.

Believe it or not, if the innate immune subsystem cannot destroy the foreign invader in a set of period of time from 3 -8 weeks, it will compromise, leading to low-grade inflammation in facilitating the onset of various diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and arthritis.

Immune modulation is the process to increase and decrease the immune functioning depending on the needs of the body. In people with a weakened immune system, modulation of the immune system are found to enhance immune functioning against the infectious agents.

However, in people with overactive immunity, modulation of the immune function will reduce the risk of the immune system attacking the body tissues.

Tomato is red, edible fruit, genus Solanum, belonging to family Solanaceae, native to South America. Because of its health benefits, the tomato is grown worldwide for the commercial purpose
and often in the greenhouse.

With an aim to find a potential compound with immune modulatory activity, researchers examined the influence of tomato aqueous extract (TAE) on the in vitro inflammatory response.

According to the results observed by the Murine macrophages (RAW264.7 cells), PBLs and HUVECs incubated with TAE, TAE exerted a significant effect in the inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as L-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and chemokines such as CCL2/MCP-1, CCL3/MIP-1α.

In the endothelial cell, TAE reduced ED-associated expression of adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1) associated with the production of inflammation.

In macrophages, the production of pro-inflammatory proteins associated with low-grade inflammation also inhibited the injection of TAE.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "during acute inflammation, TAE enhances cellular alertness and therefore the sensing of disturbed immune homeostasis in the vascular-endothelial compartment. Conversely, it blunts inflammatory mediators in macrophages during chronic inflammation".

In other words, TAE protects the integrity and viability of immune cells by modulating the immune activity depending on the needs of the body.

Furthermore, in a blinded, randomized, cross-over study, male subjects on a low-carotenoid diet consumed 330 ml/day of either tomato juice (37.0 mg/day lycopene) or carrot juice (27.1 mg/day beta-carotene and 13.1 mg/day alpha-carotene) for 2 weeks with a 2-week depletion period after juice intervention, researchers compared the effects of a low-carotenoid diet supplemented with either tomato (providing high amounts of lycopene) or carrot juice (providing high amounts of alpha- and beta-carotene) on immune functions in healthy man.

According to the results from the tested assays, juice consumption showed relatively fast responses in plasma carotenoid concentrations (p < 0.0002) without accompanied by concomitant changes in immune functions.

However, increased plasma carotenoid concentrations after vegetable juice consumption were accompanied by a time-delayed modulation of immune functions in healthy men consuming a low-carotenoid diet.

Precisely, tomato juice modulated the immune function in a delay and concentration-dependent manner.

Taken altogether, tomatoes may be considered supplements for the modulation of immune function based on the body needs, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Tomato Aqueous Extract Modulates the Inflammatory Profile of Immune Cells and Endothelial Cells by Schwager J1, Richard N2, Mussler B3, Raederstorff D. (PubMed)
(2) Supplementation of a low-carotenoid diet with tomato or carrot juice modulates immune functions in healthy men by Watzl B1, Bub A, Briviba K, Rechkemmer G. (PubMed)