The Role of Dietary Factors

A presentation by Rohit Sattar

1. 2. 3. 4.

A very brief intro Present statistics regarding cancer deaths How lifestyle influences cancer Anticancer effects of foods 1. Cruciferous vegetables 2. Flavonoids and Terpenoids 3. Fruits 5. Other nutrients and dietary compounds 6. Conclusion

Cardio vascular diseases Cancer Communicable diseases Injuries

Others

As you know, carcinogenesis is a complex phenomenon, and several factors both environmental including behavioral and genetic are associated with the etiology. Behavioral factors: Tobacco use, diet, physical activity, obesity/energy balance

Genetic factors: Enzymes of the physiological system, including enzymes that metabolize exogenous environmental compounds and different nutrients, Interaction between genetic polymorphisms with consumed nutrients or with promutagens could moderate could modulate cancer etiology.

5% 5%

25% 35%

Genetic factors Environmental Smoking Nutrition Sun exposure

30%

As you can see environmental factors, smoking, nutrition are the most common causes of cancer. And these all can be easily prevented by taking adequate care about our lifestyle.

The role of cruciferous vegetables to protect against cancer is attributed to the fact that they are the unique source of glucosinolates. Ex: Glucobrassicin and Glucoraphanin

They are metabolized into indole 3carbinole which is a very good chemopreventive agent for cancer. And act through selectively inhibiting of Cytochrome 450 enzyme involved in the carcinogenic metabolism

Cruciferous vegetables can modulate estrogen metabolism and it has been hypothesized that they might lower the risk of estrogen-dependent cancers like

breast cancer

Interestingly, cruciferous vegetables also contain other chemopreventive ingredients such as flavonoids and selenium.

Flavonoids are a large group of plants products that have a common C6-C3-C6 structure consisting of two aromatic rings linked through an oxygenated heterocycle.

Flavones Flavonols Flavanones Flavanols Isoflavones Anthocyanins Isoflavones.

COX 2 is over expressed during the inflammation and cancerous phenomenon. In that case, the flavonoids act as a potent inhibitor of COX 2 in the pathological process of cancer. It also inhibits some other factors like inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and nuclear factor B (NF-B). On the other hand, Singh and Agarwal noticed that silibinin, a flavonoids isolated from milk thistle,

inhibited mitogenic and cell survival

signalling

such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Insulin like growth factor receptor type I (IGFRI) and NF-B Signaling.

This is the reason why phyto-estrogen rich food, are

whose staple food is

Terpenoids are an extensive group of natural products whose structures are composed of isoprene units.

In general, these are cyclic unsaturated hydrocarbons where oxygen molecules in the constituent groups are attached to the isoprene units. From the nutritional stand point, the major subclasses are monoterpenes (e.g., limonenes, menthol, perillyl alcohol), diterpenes (retinoids) and tetraterpenes (which include carotenoids such as betacarotene, lutein, lycopene and zeaxanthine).

Terpenoids like limonene and perillyl alcohol (a hydroxylated analog of limonene) have anticancer effects and can cause induction of phase-II enzymes such as glutathione-S-transferase .

They possess anti oxidant properties which

scavenges free radicals

which can be a very probable cause of cancer. Retinol (Vitamin A) and lutein etc are thought to have beneficial effects by preventing the occurrence of the cancer by the above mentioned property of antioxidant.

An inverse relationship was recorded between the intake of lycopene from tomatoes and the risk of cancers of the prostrate, lung and stomach.

Berries inhibit the growth of premalignant cells through down-regulation of COX 2 and also expression of other genes associated with the tumor development such as iNOS and VEGF. Resveratrol is a phytoalexin (i.e., inhibitor of phytopathogenic organisms) and is present in grapes, berries, peanuts and several other plants. It is one of the best known food microcomponents with potent chemopreventive properties towards several important human diseases such as cardio vascular diseases. COX 2 Inhibition.

A recent prospective study in Japan Public Health Center (JPHC) indicated an inverse relationship between green tea consumption and risk of gastric cancer was observed among women especially. Zhang et al. observed a trend of better survival among ovarian cancer patients who were tea drinkers than non-drinkers patients. They concluded that increasing the consumption of green tea after diagnosis might be helpful in the prognosis of ovarian cancer.

Tea contains large quantities of polyphenolic compounds known as catechins. The leading catechins in the green tea are: Epicatechin (EC) Epigallocatechin (EGC) Epicatechin-gallate (ECG) Epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG)

All these compounds have been prooven to and cell lines

inhibit cell growth

inducing cell arrest and apoptosis in different cancer

CURCUMIN possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. It induces apotosis by targeting mitochondria, affecting p53-related signalling and blocking NF-B activation. Also inducing COX-2 expression inhibition.

GINGER contains gingerdiol, zingerone and paradol. These are chemopreventive with their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities.

Please include the following and help yourself live healthy..

1. Be active 2. Exercise in the mornings 3. Eat lot of cruciferous vegetables 4. Have a cup of green tea everyday 5. Add spices to almost everything you eat in moderate amounts 6. Eat fruits as many as possible everyday 7. Make tomato recipes a habit