According to the latest research, blueberries, already advertised as a wonderful fruit due t the fact that they may protect against memory loss and heart disease, could also help prevent the development of colon cancer.
The research indicated that a natural compound known as pterostilbene – that can be found in blueberries and other fruits - helped prevent pre-cancerous colon lesions in rats.
"Pterostilbene is an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent that can mainly be found in blueberries and blackberries," explained the leader of the research, Bandaru Reddy, a study professor at Rutgers University’s Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research, in Piscataway, New Jersey. "We assessed that by the use of a rat model that is very similar to the human situation. A few other composites evaluated using this model in the past are already in human trials."
The research was carried out by the scientists from Rutgers and the US Department of Agriculture and was financed by the US National Cancer Institute. The results of the study were demonstrated at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in Chicago.
According to Reddy, colon cancer is one of the most widespread cancers in Western countries, and this research is one of the first to demonstrate the potential of pterostilbene to struggle it.
How the research was performed
For the preliminary research, the investigators gave eighteen rats a composite known as azoxymethane, a chemical substance inducing colon cancer.
Later, fifty per cent of the rats were fed a balanced diet, whereas the other fifty per cent were given the same diet together with the compound pterostilbene (at a level of 40 parts per million).
After eight weeks, the rats that were fed pterostilbene had 57 per cent fewer pre-cancerous lesions in their colon (known as preneoplastic lesions) in comparison with the second group. Moreover, ingesting pterostilbene lessened colonic cell proliferation and inhibited the expression of certain genes involved in inflammation - both of these are regarded as risk factors for colon cancer, the authors of the research explained.
Further analysis necessary
The following step is to further examine pterostilbene in animals to find out whether it is able to prevent tumors. According to Reddy, only then will human experiments be possible.
Jon A. Story, a professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, said that these findings were very interesting however introductory.
"This model for colon cancer is a good place to begin," he explained. "Nevertheless, the fact is that chemical induction of cellular alterations may not give us much information on the development of human tumors. More models are necessary to have a better idea of this relationship."
Still, it cannot hurt to add berries to your diet, said James Joseph, chief of the neuroscience laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Centre on Ageing at Tufts University, Boston.
Berries suggested
"Consume berries irrespective of this research," he said. "There’s plenty of other data out there concerning the health benefits of berries. Generally, make sure to consume ten servings of fruits and vegetables each day, particularly colorful ones that are rich in antioxidants. And iceberg lettuce doesn’t count."
Other papers prepared to be demonstrated at the ACS meeting showed fruits’ potential anticancer advantages.
One research, conducted by the scientists from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, discovered that chemical substances from grape-seed extract might be able to prevent skin cancer induced by the sunlight in mice when used as a dietary supplement.
Another study carried out at the Ohio State University revealed that rodents whose diets were supplemented with black raspberries had up to an eighty per cent decrease in colon tumors and a sixty per cent decrease in tumors of the oesophagus.
Furthermore, the investigators from Germany were to report on the research that discovered that drinking two to three glasses of cloudy (or unfiltered) apple juice every day may curb colon cancer in mice.
Story emphasized that individuals shouldn’t rely on any one food to prevent colon cancer.
"Recommendations concerning colon cancer prevention have to involve all elements of the diet, not a single component," he explained.
