By Margarita Nahapetyan
Eating pomegranates or drinking pomegranate juice could reduce the risk of developing some types of breast cancer, says a new U.S research.
According to the scientists at the City of Hope Cancer Research and Treatment Center in Duarte, California, pomegranate fruit contains natural chemical (known as a phytochemical), called Ellagic acid, which appears to block aromatase, an enzyme that converts androgen to estrogen, a hormone that plays a big role in the development of breast cancer.
"Phytochemicals suppress estrogen production that prevents the proliferation of breast cancer cells and the growth of estrogen-responsive tumors," said Dr. Shiuan Chen, PhD, director of the Division of Tumor Cell Biology and co-leader of the Breast Cancer Research Program at City of Hope in Duarte, California.
In the study, the investigators analyzed the impact of 10 ellagitannin-derived compounds from pomegranates on aromatase activity and breast cancer cell growth in a number of lab tests. The results have revealed that of those tencompounds, it was urolithin B that inhibited breast cancer cell growth in a most significant way.
Scientists claim that pomegranates have recently been hailed for their potential anti-cancer and heart healthy benefits due to their high antioxidant components. But they say this is the first ever research that have studied their effects on aromatase and breast cancer growth. However, according to Dr. Powel Brown, medical oncologist and chairman of the Clinical Cancer Prevention Department at the University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Centre, further studies will be needed in order to analyze the individual components and the combination of the chemicals to understand the related potential risks and benefits of eating or drinking pomegranate-derived products for a health benefit or for cancer prevention.
Previous research has demonstrated that pomegranate juice is very rich in antioxidants - vitamins and other substances - that may help prevent diseases such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Powel Brown said in a statement that future studies should mainly concentrate on testing pomegranate juice for its effect on estrogen levels, menopausal symptoms, breast density or even as a cancer preventive agent.
Professor Gary Stoner from the Department of Internal Medicine at Ohio State University said that people might consider eating more pomegranates as protective means against development of breast cancer and perhaps in other tissues and organs as well. However, he added that it is unclear yet what is the exact dose required to have an effect in humans and that it would not be possible to gain enough from diet alone.
Nearly half a million women die from breast cancer globally every year. About 75 per cent of breast cancers are estrogen-receptor positive, which means that they are fed by estrogen.
The results of this research were published this week in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now