Dietary Antioxidants : Natural And Synthetic

Alan Diamond’s laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago as an intern. My research focused on the effect of DNA variations and selenium supplementation on the expression of the antioxidant, Glutathione Peroxidase 1 (GPx-1). By western blot analysis, I found that selenium, a nutritional supplement, increased GPx-1 expression in human-derived cell lines. In addition, using the Seahorse XF Analyzer, I determined that GPx-1 induction led to a decreased rate of glycolysis. The Seahorse simultaneously measures oxygen consumption and changes in acidity. Particularly amazing to me was the ability of the instrument to analyze and collect data on living and breathing cells in real time. Interestingly, the decreased rate of glycolysis upon GPx-1 induction correlated with a reduced expression of Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), a key enzyme upregulated in cancer. The results suggest that increased GPx-1 expression and consequent reduction in glycolysis may help to slow cancer cell growth. The next steps would be to extend the findings to animal models. I believe this work may have translational applications for treating patients with

Selenium: An anti-oxidant that works as a shield to protect against the development of prostate cancer.

The extracts and polyphenols suppressed cell proliferation, promoted apoptosis, modulated signaling transduction, inhibited cell invasion, and prevented angiogenesis and metastasis in animal models related to multiple types of cancer such as liver, bladder, prostate, intestine, colon, pancreas, and mammary gland in more than one hundred publications (Yang & Wang, 2010; de Moura et al., 2013). Green tea has been studied expansively for its cancer prevention effects which are believed to be associated with green tea polyphenols known as "catechins (-)-epigallocatchin-3gallate (EGCG), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (-)-epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), and (-)-epigallocatechin (EC)...they each have a level of antioxidants and are strong metal ion chelators, which prevent the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS)" (Yang & Wang, 2010, p. 931; Ziech et al., 2012). Further research has revealed that high concentration levels are necessary to accomplish this, and adding other agents such as Atrovastatin, a drug used to lower cholesterol, increase success (Yang & Wang, 2010). EGCG has demonstrated the most success because it "serves an antioxidant, or pro-oxidant, and

Within the Brugge Lab, we have investigated the role of various metabolic pathways in cancer including the role of antioxidants within the tumor cell. Although antioxidants were previously believed to scavenge harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) and provide a protective benefit against cancer, clinical trials have demonstrated that supplementation with antioxidants actually increased prostate cancer incidence among healthy patients. I joined a postdoctoral fellow in the lab to determine whether depletion of glutathione, the major antioxidant within the cell, would put the cell in a sensitive state that made it vulnerable to inhibition of other major pathways. Through our screening effects, we discovered that triple negative breast cancer cells become exquisitely sensitive to treatment with inhibitors of deubiquitinating enzymes through an induction of a proteotoxic stress response. I look forward to sharing these findings with the scientific community as second author on the manuscript currently in preparation.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. As of 1990, there has been estimated 5 million people who have been taken by the disease. Every one of four people in the U.S will die of cancer, averaging at 1,500 people per day. There are many things in our daily lives that contribute to the growth and spread of cancer. The food and chemical industries take the blame. Naming it the “man made disease.” What many people do not understand is that there are other treatment options rather than chemo and radiation therapy. One of these alternative treatments is natural medicine. Natural medicine is beneficial because people have

Selenium is an essential trace element found in the body that works in conjunction with other vitamins to support the powerful detoxification process. When combined with Vitamin E, Selenium can help prevent oxidative stress from occurring in the body which is crucial in the prevention of many diseases such as heart disease and cancer. According to Dr. Mandal (2015), "Oxidative stress is essentially an imbalance between the production of free radicals and the ability of the body to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects through neutralization by antioxidants." Selenium goes to work in the body as a powerful antioxidant, and it is required for the production of Glutathione, which is a key antioxidant in our bodies. Antioxidants are important in keeping the body healthy by fighting off the free radicals that our cells are exposed to on a daily basis.

There are many ways for cancer to get in the body, like exposure to uranium and oxidative stress. [8]. When the mechanisms of the body loose the protein Glutathione it leads to making oxygen free radical neutral. Two of the most important proteins in the body are glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Glutathione (GSH) works as an antioxidant [9]. Also, glutathione (GSH) has an important job that removes toxic metals out of the body because glutathione (GSH) has a sulphydryl group. This group strongly binds with toxic metals, effectively [3]. When uranium enters the body, it will reduce glutathione (GSH). When there is a reduction of glutathione (GSH), it leads to an increase of the

Twenty healthy, age-matched (36 years of age, on average) subjects were randomized to either receive 200 mg of Polygonum cuspidatum extract (PCE) (containing 40 mg of resveratrol) or a placebo daily for 6 weeks. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 1, 3 and 6 weeks. Oxidative stress was determined by analyzing blood for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Inflammatory state was determined by assessing nuclear NFKB DNA binding activity (via gel shift assay) and TNFα mRNA expression (via PCR testing). Resveratrol supplementation was found to significantly reduce ROS generation, NFKB DNA binding activity, and TNFα mRNA expression compared to both baseline and the placebo group at 3 and 6 weeks. (see figure 1). The authors therefore concluded that 6 weeks of a resveratrol-containing supplement could reduce both oxidative stress and inflammation. A major weakness of the study is that the authors failed to report the sex of the subjects making it challenging to compare these findings with other studies. Furthermore, this study used a PCE supplement, which contains several other antioxidants in addition to resveratrol. The possibility therefore remains that these other compounds or an interaction effect could have been responsible for some of changes that were observed.

Some people falsely assume that because naturopathic medicine comes from the earth, it must not be a very effective alternative cancer treatment option. Maybe, they have tried it, but the results were too inconsistent, or it didn't seem to do anything at all. This is partly due to the multitude of companies who do not standardize the herbal remedy products that they sell. If pulled off of store shelves to be analyzed, one would find that most herbal remedy capsules and tinctures have very little of the key active ingredient. Don't let this deter you from using them though. Find a company that guarantees the quality and purity of their herbal remedies, and talk to your naturopath about including some of the following known cancer-fighting herbs

other rapidly growing cells in the body. Chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat cancer are given to most of the people, which help to sustain the completion of cancer treatment (El-Sayyad et al., 2009; Sundaram & Sangavai, 2009). Besides this, the noxious side effects of chemotherapeutic agents include the devastating production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, an escalating amount of facts suggest that a simultaneous treatment of chemotherapy and chemo-preventive agents with antioxidant action may augment the efficacy of chemotherapeutics (Lee et al., 2008;Aydin et al., 2011). Although the mechanism underlying the severe cytotoxicities of doxorubicin (DOX) is not fully clear, ROS are assumed to be a key factor in the toxicity of DOX and events controlling this oxidative injury are extensively appreciated (Reddy

Chemotherapy is the most used drug or combination of drugs in the United States primarily to combat malignant tumors at the cost of even damaging the healthy cells. The purpose of chemotherapy is to either slow down or halt the spreading of the cancerous tumor. Yet, there is another way that is not widely used to fight against malignant tumors and that is the holistic approach. The holistic approach is showing promise to combat cancer and that is to eat organic fruits and vegetables, take natural supplements and to eliminate refined sugars and oils to name a few. With the two different ways to combat cancer in mind, it would be beneficial for cancer patients to use the holistic approach instead of chemotherapy since it does not damage any of

There are lost of ways to prevent cancer or try to prevent it. One of these is reducing your fat intake. One study shows that the result of this is that the level of estrodiol, the potent form of estrogen decreases. Another way to fight breast cancer is to eat plenty of fruit and vegetables. Many fruits and vegetables contain chemicals that may be cancer fighters. A concentrated form of limonene, a substance found in citrus skins, has been found to shrink breast cancer in animals. Some studies have shown that if you breast-fed for more than four months it lowers your risk of the cancer. In a recent study women who have underwent breast reduction have a low risk of getting breast cancer by forty percent.

Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook 4 Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest

Without these common drugs nowadays a variety of new techniques and challenges have been placed in the cases of cancer treatment. Some of these are-

Transition to 1st main point: First, let’s talk about the anticancer properties that are found in certain teas. ll. Body