Scientists look to natural compounds to win against cancer

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>

> Scientists look to natural compounds in fruits and

> vegetables to win the war against cancer

>

> Natural anti-fungal compounds found on common fruits

> and vegetables could unlock the belly of a Trojan

> horse lying latent inside cancer cells. Laboratory

> tests have shown that the compounds, called

> salvestrols, unleash a potent army of snipers that

> pick off cancer cells without harming normal cells.

>

> A small team of pharmacologists and bio-chemists in

> England discovered the compounds almost four years

> ago, and say they are an example of the potential

> power of orthomolecular, or nutrition-based, medicine

> even though it has only been tested in the lab.

>

> About 250 orthomolecular practitioners from 14

> countries will gather in Vancouver this weekend for

> the 37th annual international conference on the

> biochemical approach to health.

>

> Orthomolecular medicine, meaning the right molecule,

> argues that diseases are caused by chemical imbalances

> in the body and that they can be corrected using

> vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

>

> The approach is still disputed by many in conventional

> medicine, including the respected Cochrane Library,

> which recently reviewed the literature on antioxidants

> and found no evidence to support their use for

> prevention.

>

> But nutrition therapy has gained some credence lately

> because of a growing body of evidence demonstrating

> the value of food and food derivatives such as

> omega-3s and Vitamin D to prevent and heal disease.

>

> In the case of the anti-fungal compounds, its

> proponents are convinced their presence or absence in

> diet could help explain why some people get cancer and

> some don't. They also believe it is a potent cancer

> fighting therapy.

>

> The as yet unproven therapy was discovered after Dan

> Burke, a former University of Aberdeen toxicologist

> and pharmaceutical metabolism professor who found an

> enzyme called CYP1B1 (pronounced sip one bee one) that

> is present in all cancer cells but absent in all

> non-cancerous cells.

>

> A mainstream cancer researcher for 30 years, Burke

> knew he'd stumbled onto something big.

>

> The problem with cancer is that unlike many diseases,

> it has no alien source -- no infection or bacteria

> towards which treatment can be directed.

>

> Cancer cells are normal cells that don't die. They

> just multiply forever. So current treatments, such as

> chemotherapy and radiation, can't target just the

> cancerous cells.

>

> They can only carpet bomb the cancerous area,

> destroying normal cells in the process and causing

> immune deficiency, hair loss and other unpleasant side

> effects.

>

> In his enzyme, Burke had a target that drugs could

> attack. He and colleague Gerry Potter, a professor of

> medicinal chemistry with a long history of developing

> anti-cancer drugs, began preliminary research into

> creating a pro-drug, a drug that can enter all cells

> but is harmless until it encounters the CYP1B1 enzyme.

>

> " CYP1B1 is a Trojan horse, " Burke said in a recent

> Vancouver interview. " It is intrinsic in cancer cells.

> All you have to do is give it [a pro-drug] and it will

> unleash the armies to kill the cancers cells. "

>

> Source: canada.com

>