Cancer Treatment May Benefit from Food Antioxidant

Scientists found that resveratrol and quercitin are helpful in cancer treatment and their health properties are hugely underestimated in the past years.

The two substances have long been studied. Besides with high antioxidant ability, they can also be employed in the treatment of cancer for their ability of counteracting the toxicity.

Resveratrol with high antioxidant ability is commonly existed in grapes, also in red wine, blueberries, mulberries, green tea and many other foods. Quercitin is available in some types of berries and vegetables. There was limited evidence for them to make good to the human health, which is enhanced by the studies and researches aiming to find more about the medical value of it. And the scientific result of the new research proved that it can also play an important role as an ingredient of cancer drug.

Research team from Oregon University leaded the study. They set up a system making resveratrol and quercitin soluble in water and work in blood stream by the form of injection at a much higher level than that can be obtained from foods to see the effects that the compounds can bring to the body in in vitro and in vivo studies.

It’s showed that the combination of the two polyphenols can offset the harmfulness brought by Adriamycin, a frequently used cancer drug, in a significant scale by helping deal with the free radicals. Thus the scientists think that it may be possible for these compounds to co-work with cancer drugs and enhance the efficacy of medicine.

However, the oral intake of these high valuable compounds is absorbed at a very low rate. To overcome this difficulty, the research team is working on the injection type and making them water soluble, thus can be injected into the body directly.

The final purpose of the study is to make the polyphenols work with cancer drug to decrease the side effects of cardiotoxicity, which can help achieve free use of Adriamycin and other drugs.

It’s estimated by scientists that resveratrol and quercitin can be put into function in human bodies to help battle against cancer in two ways. They can be transmitted into a body one timely to make sense in the counteraction of cardiotoxicity made by cancer drugs, whist they can be accumulated in bodies and perform their anti-cancer properties.

After the R&D process on these polyphenols, the success of their application on cancer treatment will not be very far. And with them the whole cancer treatment situation will be improved to a higher level.