Garlic Slows Growth of Lung
Cancer Cells
A compound in garlic slows
the spread of human lung
cancer cells, according to
researchers in Penn State's
College of Health and Human
Development.A compound in
garlic slows the spread of
human lung cancer cells,
according to researchers in
Penn State's College of
Health and Human
Development.
Kazuko Sakamoto, a Penn
State research associate in
nutrition, reported that
diallyl trisulfide (DATS), a
compound in processed garlic
oil, slowed the growth of --
or even killed -- human lung
tumor cells grown in
culture. Lung cancer is the
leading cause of cancer
death in the United States.
Sakamoto described her
findings at Experimental
Biology '96, a meeting of 18
scientific societies.
"We found DATS to be
extremely effective in
reducing the growth of human
lung carcinoma cells in
culture," says John Milner,
professor and head of Penn
State's Department of
Nutrition and a
co-researcher on the study.
The study, funded by the
American Institute for
Cancer Research, was
conducted in Milner's
laboratory.
The effectiveness of DATS
was comparable to that of
5-fluorouracil, a widely
used chemotherapy agent,
Milner says. In addition,
while DATS was effective
against the lung cancer
cells, it was considerably
less toxic to healthy cells.
"The results have profound
implications, both for diet
and for drug therapy,"
Milner says.
The findings are the latest
in a growing body of
evidence that garlic can
suppress human cancer cells,
both in laboratory cultures
and in test animals.
In the current study,
treatment with 10 micrograms
of DATS for 24 hours reduced
cancer cell growth by 47
percent. A larger dose (50
micrograms) for the same
length of time reduced cell
growth by 72 percent, and an
even more powerful treatment
(100 micrograms) killed the
cancer cells outright within
24 hours.
In previous studies, Milner
and his colleagues reported
that two other compounds in
garlic -- S-allylcysteine or
SAC, and diallyl disulfide
or DADS -- have
anti-carcinogenic properties
as well. They found that SAC
interfered with the
formation of breast tumor
cells in rats, while DADS
inhibited the growth of
human cancer cells (colon,
skin, and lung) grown in lab
cultures. The new study is
especially promising because
it found DATS to be 10 times
as effective as DADS.
"Clearly we are learning
that there is more than one
mechanism by which garlic
can reduce cancer," Milner
says. "Our studies and
others have shown that
compounds in garlic can
block the initiation phase
of cancer as well as the
subsequent promotion phase."
DATS and DADS can be found
in ordinary clove garlic.
They also are found in
garlic oil preparations,
which are available (usually
in capsule form) in many
health food stores.
Deodorized garlic products,
on the other hand, typically
do not contain DATS and
DADS, although they do
contain SAC.
Article Source
|
