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Study: Dietary Ginger may work against cancer
growth
Minneapolis/St. Paul-The substance that
gives ginger its flavor appears to inhibit the growth of human
colorectal cancer cells, according to research at the
University of Minnesota's Hormel Institute in Austin, Minn.
Working with mice that lack an immune systems, research
associate professor Ann Bode and her colleagues found slower
rates of cancer growth in mice given thrice-weekly feedings of
[6]-gingerol-the main active component of ginger. Bode and
co-author Zigang Dong, director of the institute, will discuss
the work at a press conference from 9:30 to 10:30a.m. MST
Tuesday, Oct. 28, during a meeting of the American Association
for Cancer Research in the J.W. Marriott Desert Resort and Spa
in Phoenix. They will also present the work at a poster
session from 1 to 2:30p.m. and from 6 to 7:30p.m. MST in the
Marriott.
"Plants of the Ginger family have been
credited with therapeutic and preventive powers and have been
reported to have anti-cancer activity" said Bode. "The
substance called [6]-gingerol is the main active compound in
ginger root and the one that gives ginger root and the one
that gives ginger it's distinctive flavor."
The researchers tested [6]-gingerol's
powers by feeding a half a milligram to 20 mice three times a
week before and after injecting human colorectal tumor cells
into their flanks. Control mice were treated the same the
same, except their food contained no [6]-gingerol. Tumors were
allowed to grow until they reached a size of one cubic
centimeter, after which the mice were euthanized.
The first tumors appeared 15 days after
the cells were injected. At that time, 13 tumors of measurable
size had appeared among the control mice, 4 among the
[6]-gingerol-treated mice. Mice consuming [6]-gingerol in both
the number of animals with measurable tumors and the average
size of tumors within the group. For example, all the mice in
the control group had measurable tumors by the 28th day
following injection of the cells. But it wasn't until the 38th
day that the [6]-gingerol group reached that milestone-but one
mouse still had no measurable tumors. As the 49th day
following injection, all control mice had been euthanized due
to tumor sizes of one cubic centimeter. In contrast, 12 of the
20 [6]-gingerol mice were still alive on that day, and their
average tumor size was about 0.5 cubic centimeter, or half the
maximum allowable size.
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