Vitamin E in Food May Fight Cancer
Vitamin E in Food May Fight Cancer
Form of Vitamin E Found in Food, but not Supplements, May Fight Prostate and Lung Cancer
Dec. 15, 2004 -- Researchers have found that vitamin E may fight prostate and lung cancer.
The term vitamin E describes a family of eight antioxidants. Researchers say that one form in particular appears to fight prostate cancer without harming normal cells. But it's not the kind of vitamin E used in most supplements. Instead, it's the most common form found in the American diet. It occurs naturally in foods such as sesame seeds, walnuts, pecans, and corn and sesame oils.
The form of vitamin E is called gamma-tocopherol.
Most supplements provide a different form of the vitamin, alpha-tocopherol, which has attracted attention for more than 25 years. Some studies have shown that it has anticancer abilities. Other studies have shown that the anticancer properties of increased levels of alpha-tocopherol are found only when gamma-tocopherol levels are also high.
Recently a team of scientists tested gamma-tocopherol to see if it had any cancer-fighting potential. The researchers included Qing Jiang, formerly of Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, Calif. The report is published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which will also include the study in its Dec. 21 print edition.
The researchers had nothing against alpha-tocopherol. "Alpha-tocopherol has justifiably earned a good reputation as an antioxidant," says Jiang, in a news release. Instead, she wanted to see if other forms of vitamin E were promising.
Jiang, now an assistant professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University in Indiana, has studied gamma-tocopherol before. In 2000, she and her colleagues found that it inhibits inflammation, which has been linked to cancer.
This time, Jiang's team pitted gamma-tocopherol against human prostate and lung cancer cells. For comparison, they also exposed healthy human prostate cells to alpha-tocopherol.
Gamma-tocopherol aced its lab tests. It inhibited the spread of prostate and lung cancer cells without hurting the healthy cells. That indicates that gamma-tocopherol might be able to combat cancer without damaging unaffected cells.
Here's how it worked. Apparently, gamma-tocopherol interfered with the cell membranes of the cancer cells. The effect was fatal -- killing off the cancer cells.
Vitamin E in Food May Fight Cancer
Form of Vitamin E Found in Food, but not Supplements, May Fight Prostate and Lung Cancer
Dec. 15, 2004 -- Researchers have found that vitamin E may fight prostate and lung cancer.
The term vitamin E describes a family of eight antioxidants. Researchers say that one form in particular appears to fight prostate cancer without harming normal cells. But it's not the kind of vitamin E used in most supplements. Instead, it's the most common form found in the American diet. It occurs naturally in foods such as sesame seeds, walnuts, pecans, and corn and sesame oils.
The form of vitamin E is called gamma-tocopherol.
Most supplements provide a different form of the vitamin, alpha-tocopherol, which has attracted attention for more than 25 years. Some studies have shown that it has anticancer abilities. Other studies have shown that the anticancer properties of increased levels of alpha-tocopherol are found only when gamma-tocopherol levels are also high.
Recently a team of scientists tested gamma-tocopherol to see if it had any cancer-fighting potential. The researchers included Qing Jiang, formerly of Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland, Calif. The report is published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which will also include the study in its Dec. 21 print edition.
The researchers had nothing against alpha-tocopherol. "Alpha-tocopherol has justifiably earned a good reputation as an antioxidant," says Jiang, in a news release. Instead, she wanted to see if other forms of vitamin E were promising.
Jiang, now an assistant professor of foods and nutrition at Purdue University in Indiana, has studied gamma-tocopherol before. In 2000, she and her colleagues found that it inhibits inflammation, which has been linked to cancer.
This time, Jiang's team pitted gamma-tocopherol against human prostate and lung cancer cells. For comparison, they also exposed healthy human prostate cells to alpha-tocopherol.
Gamma-tocopherol aced its lab tests. It inhibited the spread of prostate and lung cancer cells without hurting the healthy cells. That indicates that gamma-tocopherol might be able to combat cancer without damaging unaffected cells.
Here's how it worked. Apparently, gamma-tocopherol interfered with the cell membranes of the cancer cells. The effect was fatal -- killing off the cancer cells.
