Green Tea Polyphenols Fight Drug Resistant Cancer

Green Tea Polyphenols (GTP) were added to chemotherapy-drug resistant cancer cells. Adding the GTP increased the ability of the cancer chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin to fight the cancer by 5.2 times. The GTP increased the concentration of doxorubicin in the cancer cells and decreased the ability of the tumor cells to push out the chemotherapy. The study is published in the October 2004 issue of the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology.

Commentary by Jerry Hickey, R.Ph.

A major cause of drug resistance to chemotherapy is the ability of cancer cells to push the drugs out of the cell before they have a chance to take effect. Green tea polyphenols have the ability to help reverse this disastrous activity. Recent studies have shown that the amino acid L-Theanine, and the red wine constituent Resveratrol also posess this amazing ability.

Different Polyphenols Inhibit Prostate Cancer Growth by Different Mechanisms

Turmerics constituent Curcumin is a powerful inhiitor of prostate cancer cell growth. Whereas Green Teas major polyphenol EGCG, and the Red wine polyphenol Resveratrol inhibited the prostate cancer cell cycle at the S-phase. The S-phase of the cell cylce is crucial. At this point in a cells life a flurry of activity takes place as the cell prepares to create new cance cells. Quercetin found in green tea, garlic, and apple skins, Genestein from Soybeans, and Curcumin from Turmeric inhibited the prostate cancer cell cycle at the G2M phase, a phase of the cell cycle more progressed than S-phase. All of these polyphenols induced the death and destruction of prostate cancer cells and they all worked differently. The study is published in the November 2004 issue of the journal Nutrition and Cancer

Grape Seed OPCs Fight Colon Cancer

The effect of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidins (GSP) was tested on rat precancerous colon tissue. The regeneration of abnormal precancerous cells was greatly reduced by GSP. The actual number of precancerous cells was significantly decreased, and the death rate for these cells was greatly accelerated. The activity of the colonic tissues immune system to fight the progression to colon cancer was improved. In a second study, Grap Seed Pronathocyanidins strongly inhibited colon cancer cells and caused them to die. The study is published in the October issue of the journal Nutrition and Cancer.

Maitake Mushroom Polysaccharides Improve Immune Function in Cancer Patients

The polysaccharide fraction from Maitake Mushroom (MMP) has been shown to exert its anticancer activity in tumor bearing mice by improving immune function and immune surveillance. It acheives this by activating immune cels (macrophages, T-cells, and Natural Killer Cells). MMP in combination with chemotherapy enhanced the drugs ability to shrink cancerous tumors of the lung, liver, and breast of cancer patients. In this study, MMPwas given to cancer patients who were not currently taking chemotherapy. The MMP hindered cancer metastasis, decreased tumor markers (elevations otumor markers signal worsening-progressing disease), and increased the activity of Natural Killer Cells. Natural Killer Cells are immune cells that patrol for, identify, and call in the immune cells to destroy abnormal, precancerous, and cancerous cells. The study is published in the Winter 2003 issue of the Journal of Medicinal Foods.