Cancer chemoprevention by natural compounds

There is growing interest in the use of natural compounds for the treatment and prevention of a wide variety of diseases, including cancer. Several herb-derived components are currently evaluated in preclinical studies as potential cancer chemopreventive agents. We have recently found that several herbal plants in the Ryukyu Islands, or any other natural compound, have a potential chemopreventive effect on biomarkers of colon carcinogenesis and a growth inhibitory effect on human cancer cells. These studies together with related in vivo and in vitro investigations are summarized and discussed in this review

An ancillary study of participants in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial suggests that ingestion of bovine lactoferrin promotes expression of interferon alpha in the human colon

AbstractStudies using animal models have demonstrated that ingestion of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) is able to induce cytokine expression in the intestine and inhibit carcinogenesis in the colon and other organs of experimental animals. Consequently, a clinical trial was conducted in the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan to determine whether ingestion of bLF affected the growth of colorectal polyps in humans. The Tokyo-trial found that ingestion of 3.0 g bLF suppressed the growth of colorectal polyps and increased the level of serum human lactoferrin in participants 63 years old or younger. The present study is a complementary study to the Tokyo-trial to determine if a change in the expression of one or more cytokines could be detected in the colon of the Tokyo-trial participants after ingesting bLF. We found that daily ingestion of 3.0 g bLF promoted the expression of interferon alpha in the colon of the Tokyo-trial participants