New
Service for TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com
readers...roll mouse over, click on
highlighted links in stories to review items
from Amazon
Now, keep up to date
with daily feeds of newly posted stories
about America's Seniors...click on the box
to the left
A compound extracted
from olives inhibits cancer cells growth and
prevents their appearance
A research group of the
University of Granada has
found out that maslinic acid, a compound
present in the leaf and the olive skin wax
extracted from alpeorujo (crushed olive
pulp), has the capacity of preventing cancer
as well as regulating apoptosis in
carcinogenic processes.
Maslinic acid is a protease inhibitor that, among other
features, has the capacity of regulating
cell growth. It is useful for cancer
treatment, as it allows to control the
hyperplasia and hypertrophy processes,
typical of this disease.
The scientists of the
UGR
have characterized for the first time
maslinic acid action from the molecular
point of view when it is applied to the
development of tumour cells.
This work has been carried out by Ph D student Fernando Jesús
Reyes Zurita, and directed by Professor José
Antonio Lupiáñez Cara, of the
department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology I.
According to them, the advantages of maslinic acid are three:
Unlike other anti-carcinogenic products,
highly cytotoxic, it is a natural
compound and, therefore, less toxic.
In addition, it is selective, this is, it only acts on
carcinogenic cells, whose pH is more acid
than usual. And lastly, it has a
preventive nature, as it can inhibit
cancer appearance in those cells with a
higher predisposition to develop it.
For all types of cancer
Although the research group of Professor Lupiáñez Cara has
analysed the effect of maslinic acid in the
treatment of colon cancer, it can be used in
different types of tumours. For the moment,
their research works have been developed in
colon carcinoma lines and transgenic mice,
but they have not dismissed the possibility
of applying them to humans in future.
Maslinic acid is a pentacyclic terpene which, besides being
anti-carcinogenic, it has anti-inflammatory
and antioxidant effects and can be found in
high concentrations in olive skin wax.
At present, the only production plant of this substance at a
semi-industrial level in the whole world is
at the
Faculty
of Sciences of the
University of Granada.
...
...
...