Gember tegen darm- en prostaatkanker*
Twee studies laten het belang zien van het eten van gember tegen kanker.
Eerdere dierenstudies hebben al laten zien dat gember de vorming van kanker kan voorkomen daarom nu een, kleine studie onder 30 gezonde volwassenen. Ook nu blijkt dat het dagelijks eten van 2 gram gemalen gember(poeder)
darmkanker kan tegengaan. Vier weken lang kregen de deelnemers extra gember of een placebo. Na 4 weken bleken de gemberdeelnemers aanzienlijk minder ontstekingen in de darmen te hebben dan in de placebogroep. Als deze ontstekingen chronisch zijn kunnen ze op termijn leiden tot darmkanker. Twee gram gember per dag kan probleemloos en zonder bijwerkingen ingenomen worden. Uit de tweede studie, weliswaar met muizen blijkt dat een speciaal gemberextract een tumorgroei bij
prostaatkanker kan doen stoppen en wel met meer dan 60% doen afnemen en dat zonder bijwerkingen en
beļnvloeding van gezonde cellen. De voor een mens vergelijkbare hoeveelheid gember bedraagt dagelijks ca. 600 mg van dit speciale
extract of het eten van ca. 100 gram gemberwortel.
Ginger Root Supplement Reduced Colon Inflammation Markers
Ginger supplements reduced markers of colon inflammation in a select group of patients, suggesting that this supplement may have potential as a colon cancer prevention agent, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Suzanna M. Zick, N.D., M.P.H., a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Medical School, and colleagues enrolled 30 patients and randomly assigned them to two grams of ginger root supplements per day or placebo for 28 days.
After 28 days, the researchers measured standard levels of colon inflammation and found statistically significant reductions in most of these markers, and trends toward significant reductions in others.
Inflammation has been implicated in prior studies as a precursor to colon cancer, but another trial would be needed to see how ginger root affects that risk, Zick said.
"We need to apply the same rigor to the sorts of questions about the effect of ginger root that we apply to other clinical trial research," she said. "Interest in this is only going to increase as people look for ways to prevent cancer that are nontoxic, and improve their quality of life in a cost-effective way."
Zick is a naturopathic doctor (N.D.), which is a four-year degree that supplements a traditional medical education with instruction on the proper use of natural therapies, diet, nutrition and other alternative treatments. Her program is one of eight in the country, compared with about 135 traditional medical schools.
The study was funded by a National Cancer Institute grant.
Researchers uncover anti-cancer properties of whole ginger extract
Scientists at Georgia State University have found that whole ginger extract has promising cancer-preventing activity in prostate cancer. The first of its kind study looks at the anti-cancer properties of ginger as a whole, rather than that of individual compounds found in the plant.
The lab of Ritu Aneja, associate professor of biology, found that the ginger extract had significant effects in stopping the growth of cancer cells, as well as in inducing cell death in a spectrum of prostate cancer cells. The research appears online via FirstView in the British Journal of Nutrition.
Most importantly, in animal studies, the extract did not show significant toxicity to normal tissues, such as bone marrow.
"We found very good tumor regression by up to 60 percent, and no toxicity whatsoever"¯ Aneja said.
While much research has been performed on ginger's anti-cancer properties, Aneja's lab takes a more holistic approach when it comes to investigating the types of molecules involved.
"We believe that it is not any individual compound that is solely responsible for the extract's anti-cancer properties' Aneja said. "It's an interplay of components that is synergistic.¯"
That makes it possible for scientists to use a much smaller amount of extract to take advantage whole ginger extract's beneficial properties than would be required if a single chemical was used, Aneja said.
In looking at the data, a human would have to consume only about 3½ ounces of whole ginger extract in a daily diet to get the beneficial effects.
Aneja's lab seeks to find natural, non-toxic ways to combat cancer using kinder, gentler drugs as well as plant compounds, as current approaches cause major and debilitating side effects.
When beneficial activities are discovered in plant extracts, it takes a lot of work to unravel what chemical compounds in the extract actually provide the preventative effect, or kill cancer cells.
"Although it might seem easy to work with plant extracts, it is not so, because there are zillions of compounds and other complex derivatives in there, and we don't know which ones are the good ones"¯ she said. "Moreover, the compounds we are seeking to identify may be low in abundance, but they may be very important and cannot be disregarded."¯
Aneja has mentored numerous undergraduate students in research. The research into whole ginger extract started with the work of a persistent, dedicated undergrad, Vibhuti 'Simran'¯ Sharma, now an environmental chemist for the Southern Company.
"I did a lot of background research, and found several published papers on ginger, but discovered that there was nothing much done on the whole extract, especially in prostate cancer - a slow growing, long-latency cancer amenable to chemopreventive strategies",¯ Sharma said. "Most of the literature focused on only one compound found in ginger."
Aneja combines guidance with independent exploration to allow undergraduate students to learn on their own in a stimulating and motivational environment. Sharma learned more about techniques and protocols, and took it upon herself to turn three pounds of ginger into the extract for the study.
It was a process of trial and error for Sharma, as she initially had problems getting the extract to freeze dry.
"It turns from ice into a solid, but it kept going into a liquid," she said. "It took me three weeks to get what I wanted."¯
She experimented with prostate, breast and cervical cancer cells, and found that most cells responded well to the extract. Aneja's lab took the research further in prostate cancer, and today, even though Sharma has graduated, she is still assisting Aneja's lab, helping to make more whole ginger extract, for further fractionation and efficacy studies, that are ongoing.
"I never knew it could get so big," Sharma said. "It's unbelievable. It's great being able to say that I was just an undergrad when I started this research, and now it's being published just a year after I graduated. I take a lot of pride in it, but it would not be possible without the help from everyone in the lab."
The research team included Prasanthi Karna, Sharmeen Chagani, Sushma R. Gundala, Padmashree C.G. Rida, Ghazia Asif, Sharma and Aneja from Georgia State University, and Meenakshi Gupta from West Georgia Hospitals in LaGrange, Ga.
The research article, 'Anticancer benefits of whole ginger extract in prostate cancer' appears in the British Journal of
Nutrition, doi:10.1017/S000711451100330
Access the complete article here
University Relations, Georgia State University
(Oktober 2011)
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