Folk Remedy, Food Spice May Fight Cancer (propolis, turmeric)

Yahoo News ^ | June 10, 2005 | Yahoo News

[FairOpinion]

FRIDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer researchers have been given a million-dollar grant to investigate the therapeutic value of the folk medicine propolis and the food spice turmeric.

The U.S. National Cancer Institute grant is earmarked for the study of the two alternative remedies, each of which has shown promise in reducing risks for breast, prostate and colorectal malignancies, and in enhancing cancer treatment.

Propolis and turmeric are rich in plant polyphenolic compounds that exhibit potent antitumor activities, the researchers said.

"A very interesting property of these compounds is that they have been shown to cause cell death in tumor cells but not in normal cells," study lead investigator Costas Koumenis, assistant professor of radiation oncology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, in Winston-Salem, N.C., said in a prepared statement.

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by bees from the bark and leaves of trees and plants. Since ancient times, propolis extracts have been used as antibacterial and anti-inflammatory treatments. The major active ingredient in propolis is caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE). Recent research has found CAPE protecting mice against radiation-induced inflammation and skin damage, and also protecting rats against certain forms of heart muscle damage after they were given chemotherapy drugs.

Turmeric, a spice found in curries, contains the compound curcumin. Previous studies found an association between diets rich in curcumin and greatly reduced rates of colon cancer, the researchers said.

"Based on these interesting properties of CAPE and curcumin and their good safety profile, our lab has carried out studies in cell cultures and experimental animal tumor, showing that the compounds can make tumor cells more susceptible to chemotherapy and radiation, while having little effect or even reducing some of the toxic effects of radiation on normal cells," Koumenis said.

For the next four years, he and his team will study if CAPE and curcumin enhance radiation therapy in deadly brain tumors called gliomas and other tumors in animals. They'll also attempt to learn how the two compounds make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation, while protecting normal cells.

"The differential effects of this class of compounds on normal and tumor cells are well-documented, but still remains a mystery," Koumenis said. "Discovering how they are able to do this may open the way to design drugs with similar properties but are even more potent."

[FairOpinion]

"A very interesting property of these compounds is that they have been shown to cause cell death in tumor cells but not in normal cells,"

Quite impressive. I've read about propolis being good for almost anything, due to its anti-bacterial, and disinfectant properties of killing bacteria and virii.

[FairOpinion]

PING

[FairOpinion]

Sorry, typo in title: TURMERIC.

[MamaLucci]

Curcumin may end up being a 'wonder drug'.

Curcumin, a major constituent of turmeric, corrects cystic fibrosis defects.

CYSTIC FIBROSIS FOUNDATION TO FUND CLINICAL TRIAL OF POTENTIAL CURCUMIN THERAPY

[FairOpinion]

Thanks.

I read about propolis, but didn't know anything about curcumin. As you say, maybe it will turn out to be a wonderdrug.

[Sabatier]

Very interesting. I love curry.

[de Buillion]

bump.

[WorkingClassFilth]

It is also anti-fungal as well having anti-oxidant properties. I tend to cast a skeptics eye on all of the anecdotal claims but by the same token I don't dismiss properties worthy of serious research interest. I refine and manufacture the stuff on a small scale for local sale.

[MamaLucci]

Thank YOU for posting the article. I've never heard of propolis before.

[FairOpinion]

More about turmeric's good effects on health:

Does a New Pill Contain the Fountain of Youth?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1415743/posts


"Protandim may seem to have incredible potential, but its roots are actually very humble.

It is a combination of five plant ingredients. Two of them are pretty commonplace -- green tea and turmeric, a spice used in Indian cooking. The others, among them withania somnifera, and silybum marianum, are more exotic. "

And from post 49 in that thread (posted by Coleus):

http://www.protandim.com/about-protandim.htm

[FairOpinion]

Propolis is considered a "wonder drug" in Europe and used externally to keep wounds from getting infected, as well as internally against infections, flu, colds and more serious illnesses as well.

Propolis and Royal Jelly (also created by bees)

[MamaLucci]

I've heard of royal jelly........are they the same thing?

[Thinkin' Gal]

Turmeric and curry, mmmmmm. Turmeric in the rice, turmeric in the couscous, turmeric in the hummus, turmeric in the chicken soup, turmeric in the pasta... and lots of chicken curry. Maybe that explains why yellow is such a good color on me? :-)

[FairOpinion]

No propolis and royal jelly are totally different. They are just both very highly regarded.

Propolis has tremendous anti-infection qualities, I just came across an article that at the Univ of Minnesota they are studying it against AIDS and are getting promising results.

http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/Propolis_an_ancient_remedy_may_fight_AIDS.html


Royal Jelly is a "super nutrient" and "fountain of youth". The bees make it from what they gather from the flowers: honey, pollen, but they may actually process it somehow. They use it to feed the Queen Bee, which lives 10 times as long as the worker bees, so maybe there is something to that.

People who take Royal Jelly report feeling better, healthier, more energetic, etc. and is considered an anti-aging for humans too.

[MamaLucci]

Thanks for all the info......interesting that they are all natural substances.....

[JimSEA]

My wife's Gang Pet Gai (Thai chicken curry) has always been one dish I can't eat too often. Over brown rice or rice noodles, outstanding!!!

[WorkingClassFilth]

All of the claims for these products are anecdotal. The research that has been done is largely from Europe and the old Soviet bloc. Yes, propolis has interesting qualities, but you cannot stress the need for verifiable evidence too much when people's health is concerned. As a result, I actually act as something of a critic of these products event though I produce, process and sell them.

Propolis can be varied in composition, but the usual major component is taken from the resinous materials sheathing young buds on trees. Other waxes, resins, saps and exudate's can be also present.

Royal jelly is a fat and protein rich excretion that bees make to feed the developing queen larvae. It is synthesized solely from pollen and honey which the bees consume and utilize to produce this product from hypopharengeal glands (near their mandibles). The young queen consumes a tremendous amount of this specialized material and it is this nutritional advantage alone that separates her from her underdeveloped and sterile sisters.

Despite the widespread claims for royal jelly, little has been done to quantify or analyze any factual claims in its favor. Nutrient rich, yes, but I tend to think of it on par with panaceas. The great mystique seems to be its relative scarcity since a single queen cell may only contain a gram or so. Thousands of Chinese beekeepers are needed to slave for the world's supply since swarm conditions must be induced and maintained in the colony thus needing constant supervision and management or the loss of the productive colony and the production of the royal jelly.

[Coleus]

thanks..

I've read that curcumin can be used to prevent melanoma.

[USNBandit]

Can you post the recipe?