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

Wednesday, 3 July 2019

Bromelain, Inhibits Melanoma in Vitro and Vivo

By Kyle J. Norton

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer caused by the alternation of DNA of the cells from the pigment-containing cells known as melanocytes.

Most cases of melanoma start in melanocytes on skin before spreading to the nearby tissue. In the advanced stage, the cancer cells can also travel a distance away from the originated site to infect other tissues and organ, leading to secondary metastasis, through the circulation of blood and fluids.

Most common sites of melanoma metastasis are the lung and breast.

Most common symptoms are visible by examing the change of skin, including the sores that can not heal itself, redness or swelling, persistent itching, tenderness and pain and particular, change of skin color and bleeding off of a mole compared to the normal moles.

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

According to the statistics provided by the American Cancer Society, in 2019, approximately, 96,480 new melanomas will be diagnosed (about 57,220 in men and 39,260 in women) in the US. The condition also causes the death of 4,740 men and 2,490 women.

Believe it or not. most cases of melanoma are found in older adults. The average age diagnosed with melanoma is 63.

Compared to African Americans, melanoma is more than 20 times more common in whites.

Out of many risk factors associated with the onset of melanoma, some researchers suggested the misunderstanding of the health benefits and adverse effect of sun and tanning exposure may be the leading cause of melanoma.

Dr. Caroline Chang, the lead scientist said, "Despite advances in its detection and treatment, melanoma remains the primary cause of mortality from skin disease in the Western world.".

And, "Several personal risk factors for developing melanoma are well established, including family history, multiple moles, fair skin, blue eyes, red hair, and freckles.Environmental exposures, chiefly from UV radiation, including outdoor sunburns and indoor tanning exposure, also have been associated with increased melanoma risk".

Bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme found in pineapples (Ananas comosus) has been used in traditional medicine as an inflammatory agent and to treat pains, strains, and muscle aches and pains and ease back pain and chronic joint pain, skin diseases, etc.

With an aim to find a natural ingredient against melanoma, researchers examined the effects of Bromelain pharmacological activity on B16F10 murine melanoma cells in vitro.

Compared to other parts of the plant, the highest enzymatic activity that was found in bromelain extracted from the pulp and peels and the optimum bromelain pH among all studied pineapple parts was 6.0 in a temperature above 50 °C in all bromelain extracts.

According to the results from the tested assays, bromelain showed a pharmacological activity against B16F10 melanoma cells by inhibiting 100% of tumor cell proliferation in vitro.

Based on the results, researchers said, "Since bromelain activity was found in different parts of pineapple plants, pineapple residues from the food industry may be used for bromelain extraction".

Furthermore, in melanoma-A375 cells, application of bromelain exhibited a reduction in proliferation and suppressed their potential for anchorage-independent growth through its anti-inflammatory activity.

Moreover, bromelain was found to inhibit the melanoma-A375 cells by depleting intracellular glutathione and generating reactive oxygen species followed by mitochondrial membrane depolarization.

Bromelain-induced cell-cycle arrest at G(2)/M phase by exhibiting the expression of proteins associated with cell cycle arrest.

Additionally, bromelain increased the expression of proapoptotic and anti-proliferative proteins that cause apoptosis of the tested cell line.

Dr. Bhui K, the lead scientist wrote, "Bromelain afforded substantial anti-cancer potential in these settings; hence we suggest it as a potential prospect for anti-cancer agent besides only an additive in chemotherapy".

Taken altogether, bromelain may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of melanoma, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Sources
(1) The biochemical characterization, stabilization studies and the antiproliferative effect of bromelain against B16F10 murine melanoma cells by São Paulo Barretto Miranda ÍK1, Fontes Suzart Miranda A2, Souza FV3, Vannier-Santos MA2, Pirovani CP4, Pepe IM5, Rodowanski IJ5, Ferreira KT4, Mendes Souza Vaz L6, de Assis SA. (PubMed)
(2) Bromelain inhibits nuclear factor kappa-B translocation, driving human epidermoid carcinoma A431 and melanoma A375 cells through G(2)/M arrest to apoptosis by Bhui K1, Tyagi S, Srivastava AK, Singh M, Roy P, Singh R, Shukla Y. (PubMed)
(3) More Skin, More Sun, More Tan, More Melanoma by Caroline Chang, MD, Era Caterina Murzaku, BS, Lauren Penn, MD, Naheed R. Abbasi, MD, MPH, Paula D. Davis, MFA, Marianne Berwick, PhD, MPH, and David Polsky, MD, PhD. (PMC)

Tuesday, 2 July 2019

Healthy Food Tomato Induces Cytotoxicity Against Cancer Cells

By Kyle J. Norton

Cytotoxicity is the process in the induction of cell death through toxins.

In other words, cell cytotoxicity is the process to use certain chemicals or mediator cells to destroy living cells.

In normal, cytotoxicity can cause the death of healthy cells

In cancers, cytotoxicity can be benefits to human by destroying the cancer cells and prevent them from proliferation.

For example, cytotoxicity induced by oxidative stress due to the imbalanced ratio of free radicals and antioxidant enzymes produced by the body can cause protein, lipid and cellular damage that leads to chronic low-grade inflammatory diseases and cancer.

However, stimulation of ROS and antioxidants production to induce cytotoxicity to the tumors can also cause cancer cell death without damage to nearby healthy cells.

Dr. Shikha Srivastava, the lead scientist in the evaluation of the antioxidant and cytotoxic properties in Quercetin, wrote, "quercetin interacts with DNA directly, and could be one of the mechanisms for inducing apoptosis in both, cancer cell lines and tumor tissues by activating the intrinsic pathway".

And, " quercetin-induced cytotoxicity in leukemic cells in a dose-dependent manner, while ellagic acid showed only limited toxicity. Besides leukemic cells, quercetin also induced cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells, however, its effect on normal cells was limited or none".

Scientifically, most cases of cancer cells cytotoxicity are associated with the stimulation of protein and pathways involved in either gene suppression or cell death programming.

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.

In the urgency to find a natural ingredient that kills cancer without inducing adverse effects, researchers examined the toxicity against human gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS) and the antioxidant activity of hydromethanol (HME), acetone (AcE) and alkaloid (AE) extracts prepared from the leaves of the tomato plant.

Both HME and AcE extracts showed a significant effect in scavenging •NO (IC50 values ranged from 0.87 ± 0.12 to 1.54 ± 0.23 and from 0.90 ± 0.01 to 2.23 ± 0.14 mg mL-1, respectively), compared to HMEs that only scavenge O2•- showing IC50 values from 0.12 ± ≤0.01 to 0.43 ± 0.08 mg mL-1.

In other words, tomato extracts demonstrated a strong effect against human gastric adenocarcinoma cells (AGS) through its cytotoxicity without causing harm to normal cells through the antioxidant activity.

Furthermore, in the study to assess different varieties of tomato seed extracts potential antioxidant and/or antiproliferative activity, researchers found that San Marzano Rosso seed extract displays the highest free radical-scavenging activity with 68% of 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical inhibition.

Moreover, according to the brine shrimp test (LD50: 23,198 ppm), San Marzano Rosso seed extract also demonstrated the highest cytotoxicity against A375 cell line, compared to other variety.

Taken altogether, tomato and its leaves may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Sources
(1) Further insights on tomato plant: Cytotoxic and antioxidant activity of leaf extracts in human gastric cells by Figueiredo-González M1, Valentão P1, Pereira DM1, Andrade PB. (PubMed)
(2) Antioxidant and cytotoxic activities investigation of tomato seed extracts by Tommonaro G1, Caporale A, De Martino L, Popolo A, De Prisco R, Nicolaus B, Abbamondi GR, Saturnino C. (PubMed)
(3) Quercetin, a Natural Flavonoid Interacts with DNA, Arrests Cell. Cycle and Causes Tumor Regression by Activating Mitochondrial Pathway of Apoptosis by Shikha Srivastava, Ranganatha R. Somasagara, Mahesh Hegde, Mayilaadumveettil Nishana, Satish Kumar Tadi, Mrinal Srivastava, Bibha Choudhary & Sathees C. Raghavan. (Scientific Report)

Herbal Turmeric Normalizes the Levels of Blood Cholesterol (LDL) and Triglycerides (TC) in Patients with Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

By Kyle J. Norton

Abnormal blood lipids profile included high cholesterol and triglycerides has been found to associate with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Lipid profile test is a blood test that measures the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in patients with a high risk of cardiovascular disease.

There are 2 types of blood cholesterol
* The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) produced by either the liver or dietary sources plays an essential role in the production of vitamin D, a steroid hormone, building strong cell membranes and aiding the digestive function in the absorption of nutrients.

* The other type of cholesterol is high-density lipoprotein (HDL) which has a unit function in returning the blood cholesterol to the liver for future use.

The healthy ration of LDL/HDL is any number less than 4.

Triglycerides (TC) are a type of fat stored in fat cells due to excess calories consumed. Triglycerides are converted to energy when it is needed by the body.

Although Triglycerides (TC) is needed for good health, however, regularly eat more calories than you burn, may induce hypertriglyceridemia, one of the leading cause of hardening of the arteries or thickening of the artery walls.

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, antiseptic, wound healing agent, and to treat flatulence, bloating, and appetite loss, ulcers, eczema, inflammations, etc.

With an aim to find a natural ingredient for the normalization of LDL and TC, researchers conducted a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of turmeric and curcumin in lowering blood lipids in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The study included the search for comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Ovid, Medline and Cochrane Library databases to identify randomized controlled trials (published as of November 2016) satisfied the standard guidelines and criteria.

The 7 eligible studies including 649 patients showed that turmeric extract and curcumin significantly reduced serum LDL-C and TG levels, compared to those in the control group.

Administration of both turmeric extract and curcumin lower serum TC levels in patients with metabolic syndrome. However, turmeric extract possibly has a greater effect on reducing serum TC levels compared to those of curcumin.

Both turmeric extract and curcumin showed no effect on the serum HDL-C levels and are safe.

Dr. Qin S, the lead scientist said, "Turmeric and curcumin may protect patients at risk of CVD through improving serum lipid levels. Curcumin may be used as a well-tolerated dietary adjunct to conventional drugs".

In order to obtain more information about turmeric activity on lipid profile, researchers investigated the efficacy of curcuminoid fraction from Curcuma xanthorrhiza and its curcuminoid cider in reducing blood cholesterol level and four genes related to oxidative stress.

The study included 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats divided into six groups, namely normal group diet, high-cholesterol diet (HCD) 2%, HCD + 100 mg/kg b.w. curcuminoid fraction, HCD + 300 mg/kg b.w. curcuminoid fraction, HCD + cider 1% v/v, and HCD + curcuminoid cider 2% v/v for 4 weeks.

All curcuminoid cider at 2% v/v treatment groups showed a significantly lowered total cholesterol level compared to those of positive control.

According to the results from the Real-time PCR data, both curcuminoid fractions (100 and 300 mg/kg) and curcuminoid cider (1 and 2% v/v) inhibited the gene expression associated with lipid peroxidation.

Based on the findings, researchers wrote in the final report, "Oral administration of curcuminoid fraction and its cider product may exert potential inhibitory effects on oxidative stress related-genes for preventing hypercholesterolemia-induced atherosclerosis in vivo".

Taken altogether, turmeric processed a high amount of curcumin may be used for the prevention and treatment of abnormal blood lipid profile,, 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

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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) Efficacy and safety of turmeric and curcumin in lowering blood lipid levels in patients with cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials by Qin S1, Huang L1, Gong J1,2, Shen S1,2, Huang J1,2, Ren H2, Hu H. (PubMed)
(2) Efficacy of Oral Curcuminoid Fraction from Curcuma xanthorrhiza and Curcuminoid Cider in High-cholesterol Fed Rats by Mauren FM1, Yanti2, Lay BW. (PubMed)

Phytochemical Betacyanins, the Best Free Radical Scavenger

By Kyle J. Norton

Free radical scavengers are types of antioxidants that inhibit free radicals before they can induce a chain of reaction, leading to the onset of oxidative stress.

Antioxidants are stable atoms which inhibit oxidation caused by free radical.

Oxidative stress associated with chronic disease is caused by long-term imbalanced ratio of free radicals and antioxidants. Oxidative stress has been found epidemiologically to induce proteins, lipid, and cellular damage, a major causes of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Antioxidants besides produced by the body, they can also come into the body from the dietary sources.

Normally, in a healthy individual, antioxidant enzymes produced by the liver are more than enough to counter the expression of free radicals induced by cell metabolism and the environment such as the air we breathe and the food we eat.

However, people with a weakened immune system, intake of antioxidant from outside sources such as fruits and vegetables can be helpful.

Not all free radicals are bad, in a moderate amount, free radicals are necessary for the body functioning, including the promotion of heart function in blood circulation.

Most common types of free radical scavengers produced by the human
* Catalases are antioxidants that protect the cell from oxidative damage by decomposed hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen.

*Glutathione peroxidase, is a cytosolic enzyme produced by the host that dissolves hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen and peroxide radicals to alcohols and oxygen.

*Superoxide dismutase (SOD) dissolves superoxide radical into either ordinary molecular oxygen or hydrogen peroxide.

Most common types of free radical scavenger injected by the dietary sources
* Phenolics has been found to inactivate certain free radicals such as tocopherol found in tea, soybean, corn, grape, and safflower,

* Ascorbate or vitamin C is found most abundantly in green vegetables, citrus fruits, tomatoes, berries, and potatoes.

* Thiols that processed the function to quench singlet oxygen is found in onion, garlic, beer, cabbage, tea, and coffee

* Carotenoids that process the function in the deactivation of free radical with singlet oxygen, are found in tomato and carrot

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

On finding a natural pigment which processes a significant antioxidant activity, researchers examined the Betacyanins effects on peroxyl radicals.

Based on the results of the tested assays, researchers found that

* Betanin found in betacyanins was a weak retarder in methanol and an effective chain-breaking antioxidant in the liposomal model

* Compared to betanin, betanidin other compound found betacyanins, behaved as a chain terminating antioxidant in both models.

Furthermore, according to the kinetic parameters characterizing peroxyl radical-scavenging activity, betanidin was more effective than betanin.

The results suggested that the antioxidant efficacy found in betacyanins was associated with all phytochemicals, including the major compound betanin and betanidin that work synergistically to exhibit anti-free radicals activity.

Moreover, in the assessment of the antioxidant capacity of the betacyanins in an index of radical scavenging ability, using the peroxyl radical generating system in the presence of AAPH and NO-generating system using NOR3 as a NO donor suggested that

* Betacyanins expressed peroxyl radical scavenging capacity in a dose-dependent in the low concentration range (25-100 nM).

* In free radical NO, administration of betacyanins also reduced the nitrite-level in the low concentration range of 2.5-20 μM.

* The antioxidant capacity according to individual major compounds of betanidin, betanin, and phyllocactin, are 10.70, 3.31 and 2.83 mol-TEA/mol respectively.

* The The IC₅₀ values (μM) of nitrogen radical scavenging activity of betanin, phyllocactin and betanidin.are 24.48, 17.51 and 6.81, respectively.

Dr. Taira J, the lead scientist based on the findings wrote, "These results indicated that betacyanins have a strong antioxidant capacity, particularly betanidin with a catechol group had higher activity than those of the glycoside of betacyanins".

Taken altogether, betacyanins processed abundantly bioactive ingredient betanin may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of liver steatosis, 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) Betacyanins as phenol antioxidants. Chemistry and mechanistic aspects of the lipoperoxyl radical-scavenging activity in solution and liposomes by Tesoriere L1, Allegra M, Gentile C, Livrea MA.(PubMed)
(2) Antioxidant capacity of betacyanins as radical scavengers for peroxyl radical and nitric oxide by Taira J1, Tsuchida E2, Katoh MC2, Uehara M2, Ogi T. (PubMed)

Phytochemical Lycopene Protects the Bone Density Against Osteoporotic Fractures

By Kyle J. Norton

Osteoporotic fractures are the break of the bone caused by reduced bone density as a result of osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a condition of thinning of bone and bone tissues due to the loss of bone density over time. Most cases of osteoporosis occur in older adults. Menopausal women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis compared to men.

According to the statistics, more than 200 million people in the US are suffering from osteoporosis. Worldwide, 1 in 3 women over the age of 50 years and 1 in 5 men will experience osteoporotic fractures in their lifetime.

Osteoporosis is a widespread degenerative disease of skeletal joints often associated with excessive or abnormal mechanical loading of weight-bearing joints, arising from heavy long-term use or specific injuries.

Besides fractures, other symptoms of osteoporosis are

* Lower back pain, as a result of the fractured or collapsed vertebra
People with Osteoporosis are susceptible to lower back pain than those without. Vertebral fractures and collapsed vertebra in many cases has been found to induce lower back pain. The Osteoporosis rate of frequent low back pain is higher in women in comparison to those of male.

* Loss of height over time
Vertebral fracture cause of spinal core damage is associated with significant height loss in patients with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are found to cause excessive height loss(39).

* A stooped posture
Postural deformity of patients contributes to the risk of postural instability and falls. Spinal curvature on postural instability in patients with osteoporosis may influence lumbar kyphosis (lower back curvature) in spinal inclination.

* Neck pain
Neck pain occurs frequently in female and is highly associated with patients with headache.

* Depression
Spine bone mineral density(BMD) was negative correlations between anxiety, stress, but depression was found to have a uniquely significant contribution to the explained variance in right and left hip BMD, according to Bar Ilan University.

Additionally, women with osteoporosis are more likely to experience certain psychosomatic, gastrointestinal and swelling and vasomotor symptoms.

According to the joint study by the University of Porto Medical School and Universidade Nova de Lisboa, osteoarthritis can also affect the quality of life due to the aforementioned symptoms

Lycopene is a phytochemical in the class of carotenoid, a natural pigment with no vitamin A activity found abundantly in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables, such as red carrots, watermelons, and papayas,

Tomatoes provide about 80% of the lycopene in the world diet. In plants, lycopene protects the host against excessive photodamage and perform various functions in photosynthesis.

On finding a potential compound for the prevention of osteoporotic fractures, researchers examined the effects of carotenoid (alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein + zeaxanthin) intake in the risk of fracture.

The study included 370 men and 576 women (mean age, 75 +/- 5 yr) from the Framingham Osteoporosis Study who completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) in 1988-1989 followed for hip fracture until 2005 and nonvertebral fracture until 2003.

According to the returned questionnaire, over 17 yr of follow-up, there were a total of 100 hip fractures.

The highest tertile of total carotenoid intake had a lower risk of hip fracture compared to low tertile and non- intake group.

Furthermore, subjects with higher lycopene intake had a lower risk of hip fracture and nonvertebral fracture, compared to other groups.

According to chemical analysis, there were no significant associations with alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, or lutein + zeaxanthin in the risk of hip fracture.

These results strongly suggested that lycopene found in carotenoid has a strong and positive impact on the prevention of fractures in older adults.

Moreover, according to the results of the exploration of dietary carotenoid intakes and plasma concentrations with bone density status and osteoporotic fracture risk in a European population conducted by the joint study led by the University of East Anglia, lycopene intake from the bone against fractures observed by the multiple regression.

Taken altogether, lycopene found in tomato may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of osteoporotic fractures, pending on the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of lycopene 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) Protective effect of total carotenoid and lycopene intake on the risk of hip fracture: a 17-year follow-up from the Framingham Osteoporosis Study by Sahni S1, Hannan MT, Blumberg J, Cupples LA, Kiel DP, Tucker KL. (PubMed)
(2) Carotenoid dietary intakes and plasma concentrations are associated with heel bone ultrasound attenuation and osteoporotic fracture risk in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Norfolk cohort by Hayhoe RPG1, Lentjes MAH2, Mulligan AA2, Luben RN2, Khaw KT2, Welch AA. (PubMed)
(3) Most Common Diseases of elder: The Clinical Trials and Studies of musculoskeletal disorders: Osteoporosis - The Symptoms by Kyle J. Norton

Monday, 1 July 2019

Healthy Food Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) That inhibits the Initiation and Progression of Esophageal Cancer in Vitro

By Kyle J. Norton

Esophageal cancer is a chronic and medical condition arisen from the esophagus due to the alternation of cell DNA.

Most cases of esophageal cancer start in the cell on the surface of the inner lining of the esophagus between the throat and the stomach. At the early stage, due to the very small size of the tumor, most patients are asymptomatic.

As the tumor continues to grow, patients may experience symptoms of difficulty swallowing, persistent chest pain and pressure, pain burning sensation, coughing or hoarseness and heartburn.

If you persistently experience chronic acid reflux, accompanied by some of the aforementioned symptoms, you should check with your doctor immediately to rule out of the possibility of esophageal cancer.

Some patients may also vomit blood if the tumor has pressed onto the nearby blood vessels.

At the advanced stage, the primary cancer cell can also travel a distance away to infect other healthy tissues and organs, leading to the secondary metastasis.

According to the statistics, in the US, aproximately17,650 adults (13,750 men and 3,900 women) in the United States will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer this year, accounting for 1% of cancers diagnosed.

Although there are many risk factors associated with the onset of the disease, some researchers suggested patients with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are found to have a strong implication on the disease onset.

Dr. Shaheen N, the lead scientist at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hil, wrote, "Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a risk factor for adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, rare cancer whose incidence is increasing".

However, "Strong evidence supports the association of GERD and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus; however, the risk of cancer in any given individual with GERD is low".

The cucumber plant is a species of Cucumis Sativus, belongs 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 discover a potential ingredient for the treatment of esophageal cancer, researchers investigated the possible cytotoxic effect of freeze-dried aqueous extract of E. elaterium fruit on KYSE30 (human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma).

The study included the free dried aqueous extract of the fruits of E. elaterium incubated for 24, 48, and 72 h. on KYSE30 cancer cell lines.

The extracts showed a significant effect in the inhibition of KYSE30 cell line at IC(50) values at concentrations of 500, 150, and 125 μg/ml after 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively.

According to the EB/AO staining, the extract showed an increase in apoptotic cells of the KYSE30 cell line.

Furthermore, the free dried aqueous extract of the fruits of E. elaterium exerted a significant increase in cell density at G2/M phase before inducing cell cycle arrest, according to the cell cycle analysis.

Based on the findings, researchers suggested that the freeze-dried aqueous extract of E. elaterium fruit has a cytotoxic effect on esophageal cancer cell lines via the induction of apoptosis.

Dr. Bohlooli S, the lead scientist wrote, " It seems that several compounds are possibly responsible for the cytotoxic effect of the extract".

In other words, several compounds in the extract worked synergistically to exhibit the cytotoxicity against the tested cancer cell line.

Taken altogether, cucumber may be considered supplements for the prevention and treatment of esophageal cancer, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Sources
(1) Cytotoxic effect of freeze-dried extract of Ecballium elaterium fruit on gastricadenocarcinoma (AGS) and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (KYSE30) cell lines by Bohlooli S1, Jafari N, Jahed S. (PubMed)
(2) Gastroesophageal reflux, barrett esophagus, and esophageal cancer: scientific review by Shaheen N1, Ransohoff DF. (PubMed)

Bromelain Suppresses Rheumatic Disease with No Side Effects

By Kyle J. Norton

Rheumatism or rheumatic disorder is a group of medical conditions associated with chronic, often intermittent pain that affects the joints and/or connective tissue.

Most common symptoms of rheumatism are joint pain, loss of motion in a joint or joints and low-grade inflammation that causes swelling, redness, and warmth in a joint or affected area.

Most common types of rheumatism are

* Osteoarthritis (OA), a form of arthritis, is a condition of aging-induced wear and tears on a joint, affecting over 25 million people in the US.

* Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disorder associated with the inflammation, affecting mostly the flexible (synovial) joints and tissues and organs in the body. RA affects more women than men and generally occurs after the ages of 40, causing the diminished quality of life of many elders.

* Gout mostly affected one joint is an acute and recurrent condition of arthritis caused by uric acid building up in the blood, inducing joint inflammation.

* Fibromyalgia, according to the American College of Rheumatology 1990 Criteria for the Classification of Fibromyalgia in the newly proposed criteria for the classification of fibromyalgia are 1) widespread pain in combination with 2) tenderness at 11 or more of the 18 specific tender point sites(a) as a result in responding to pressure.

* Polymalagia arthritis is a condition of inflammatory rheumatic disease which causes pain, stiffness, and tenderness in large muscles, including muscles shoulders and pelvic girdle.

* Lupus is an autoimmune disease, caused by the immune system overreaction that attacks its tissues, causing inflammation, swelling, pain, and damage.

* Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the type of arthritis that occurs in children with symptoms of persistent joint swelling, pain, and stiffness

Bromelain, a proteolytic enzyme found in pineapples (Ananas comosus) has been used in traditional medicine as an inflammatory agent and to treat pains, strains, and muscle aches and pains and ease back pain and chronic joint pain, skin diseases, etc.

On finding a potential compound for the treatment of arthritis, researchers examined the effect of an oral enzyme-combination product (OE; Phlogenzym, containing trypsin, bromelain, and rutin) in the treatment of rheumatic diseases.

The retrospective cohort study with parallel groups was to compare the efficacy of enzyme combination to those of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID).

According to the data of 3326 patients treated for rheumatic diseases in which 2139 patients were treated either only with OE or only with NSAID, between January 1993 and the end of March 1995 registered by 380 physicians, both treatments yielded similar results.

However, there was a 50% higher success rate in OE than for NSAID, compared the initial and treatment situations.

OE also scored higher stratification according to propensity score.

Furthermore, treatment duration more than 30 days and joint diseases or fibromyalgias in age over 50 years, pre-treatment with antirheumatic or analgesic drugs showed significant negative effects in patients response compared to those of OE.

Additionally, according to the aforementioned and other indicators associated with freedom from symptoms, OE exerted an expectation compared to NSAID treatment.

The results strongly support the use of the oral enzyme-combination product (OE; Phlogenzym, containing trypsin, bromelain, and rutin) for the treatment of rheumatic disease instead of NSAIDs

Dr. Wittenborg A, after taking other factors into account, wrote in the final report, "OE were well tolerated showing much less adverse events when compared with conventional doses of NSAID".

Taken altogether, bromelain combined with conventional medicine may be considered a remedy for the prevention and treatment of rheumatic disease, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

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

Sources
(1) [Proteolytic enzymes as an alternative in comparison with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) in the treatment of degenerative and inflammatory rheumatic disease: systematic review].[Article in German] by Heyll U1, Münnich U, Senger V. (PubMed)
(2) [Comparative epidemiological study in patients with rheumatic diseases illustrated in a example of a treatment with non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs versus an oral enzyme combination preparation].[Article in German] by Wittenborg A1, Bock PR, Hanisch J, Saller R, Schneider B. (PubMed)
(3) General Health by Kyle J. Norton