Dicks Health Care

The chemical compounds that are in the broccoli and cabbage, allow fight against cancer by reducing the activity of an enzyme associated with the rapid advancement of breast cancer, according to the University of California, Berkeley, the study that appears on the issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The compound, indole-3-carbinol, is undergoing clinical trials in humans, since it was found the ability to stop the growth of breast cancer and prostate cells of animals.

The new findings are the first to explain how indole-3-carbinol (I3C) stops the cell growth and, therefore, provide the basis for the development of improved versions of the chemical that would be more effective, as a drug and could work against a wider range of tumors.

“I believe that one of the real uses of this compound and its derivatives combines with other types of therapies, such as the tamoxifen for breast cancer and anti-androgen for prostate cancer,” said the co-author Gary Firestone, UC Berkeley professor of molecular and cellular biology.

“Human beings have co-evolved with the vegetables crucifers as the broccoli and Brussels sprouts, so this natural source has far fewer side effects”.

“This is a big step to try to understand the specific objectives that these natural products provide,” said the co-author Bjeldanes Leonard, professor of UC Berkeley toxicology.

“The beauty of the identification of the recipients of this type is that new studies suggest that could increase the activity of these molecules and use them to certain cancers in specific form”.