a laboratory of tests indicated that a chemical found in grapes and other fruits and vegetables is a potential antitumor agent. But experts warn that the compound, described in a report in tomorrow's issue of Science , is at least 2 years of testing in humans, and early results do not justify more trips the wine rack.
medicinal chemist John Pezzuto and colleagues at the University of Illinois, Chicago, did not expect it to improve the image of red wine when they began their study. His team was one of many who just a few years began testing some 1,000 plant extracts from around the world for the presence of potential antitumor agents. Their main assay revealed that extracts which inhibit an enzyme called cyclo-oxygenase-1, a cog in the body's inflammatory response. Pezzuto says, "anti-inflammatory agents tend to be good antitumor compounds."
> The team narrowed the 1000 extracts down to three that seemed particularly promising. The most powerful came from Peru roots of Cassia quinquangulata tree, extracts of which are used in traditional medicine to treat fever. Further experiments on a hosted component of the extract called resveratrol, a compound produced in some plants when they are subjected to a stress or pathogen attack. The compound did well in the anti-tumor tests. In addition to inhibition of cyclooxygenase, it impeded the DNA mutations in Salmonella bacteria, increasing the activity of an enzyme in the liver of mice that detoxifies carcinogens, precancerous lesions inhibited in mouse mammary cells, and growth upset of skin tumors in mice exposed to a powerful skin. carcinogenic
Resveratrol is particularly useful as anti-cancer drug candidate because it is easy to obtain: The chemical is abundant in grape skin and has been found in at least 70 other species of plants, including peanuts and mulberries. But experts warn that the compound has a long way to go before the beginning of the pharmacy. "This is a good lead, but it is very early," says Peter Greenwald, director of the division Prevention and fight against cancer from the National Cancer Institute. Greenwald adds that resveratrol is facing at least 2 years' other animal testing and safety testing before it is considered a human cancer prevention trial: "We are certainly far from saying" drink lots of red wine "
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