Ginger an Ovarian Cancer Killer

[Celebration]

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2006/04/05/hscout531950.html

WEDNESDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- Ordinary ginger causes ovarian cancer cells to die, highlighting the spice's potential in fighting the killer disease, a new study found.

Not only did ginger trigger ovarian cancer cell death, it did so in a way that may prevent tumor cells from becoming resistant to treatment, a common problem with chemotherapy.

..............snip

The Michigan team dissolved ginger powder in a solution and applied it to ovarian cancer cells in a laboratory. Ginger caused two kinds of cancer cell death. The first is called apoptosis, in which the cells essentially commit suicide. The second type of cell death is autophagy, in which cells digest or attack themselves.

"Most ovarian cancer patients develop recurrent disease that eventually becomes resistant to standard chemotherapy -- which is associated with resistance to apoptosis. If ginger can cause autophagic cell death in addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent resistance to conventional chemotherapy," study author Dr. J. Rebecca Liu, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, explained in a prepared statement.

[Maat]

1. This is good news! (n/t)

[corkhead]

2. what do the Professor and Mary Ann think about this?

sorry.

[supernova]

3. Eat more ginger!

Now that's cool. :thumbsup:

[Warpy]

9. Eating it won't do any good

You'll need to find a way to deliver it directly to the tumor cells.

That's the problem with this preliminary research, people don't "get" that the delivery route and concentration of the substance in question are both essential parts of the research. Too often, what has worked in a petri dish or in a test tube has simply not worked in a clinical setting, also.

However, if you like ginger, eat it.

[supernova]

11. Warpy, I'm perfectly

aware of the difference between eating it and applying it directly to a tumor in situ.

I was merely commenting on some happy news.

[Lethe]

12. you guys are missing the point. Ginger kicks ass (proven already)

ginger has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal effects. it has been scientifically proven as good as any of the NSAID drugs for anti-inflammatory purposes, it alleviates nausea, constipation, diarrhea, and other digestive disorders, and improves circulation.

if you dont believe me than look it up.

so how come you don't hear about this miracle cure? i dunno man, maybe its kind of like the same thing when cayenne pepper was proven to prevent and kill 80% of prostate cancer cells. too bad you can't patent a plant, especially with no side effects.

[scarletwoman]

13. Hey, see my post #8! Ginger is a wonderful plant ally!

For over 20 years I have always kept a supply of crystalized ginger slices on hand. It only takes a couple slices or so to relieve most kinds of digestive upsets. I wouldn't be without it!

I'm of an age and health profile where I'm supposed to do a daily dose of aspirin. Aspirin really upsets my stomach, so I depend on taking it (chewable baby aspirin) with ginger slices in order to tolerate it.

sw

[Jara sang]

4. Wow! I love ginger.

Especially golongol, Thai ginger.

[tanyev]

5. Anybody here ever tried this instant ginger drink?

I had it once and really liked it. I found it on the internet, but I keep meaning to check out an Asian market and see if they have it in stock.

http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/winghopfung_1891_11537740
Instant Ginger Drink made from top grade ginger and honey to give a refreshing and invigorating feeling when consumed. Modern and hygienic manufacturing techniques are used to preserve the nature taste, goodness and fragrance. It is an ideal drink for everyone. One sachet of instant ginger drink makes one cup of beverage. To prepare, pour contents, add hot water, stir and serve instantly. For variety, add instant ginger into tea, milk or serve with ice. Ingredients: Ginger and Honey.

[thereismore]

6. eating ginger is not the same as applying ginger directly.

Who knows what happens to ginger active ingredients when they are digested by stomach enzymes. Many a promising in vitro treatment has failed in vivo.

[mcscajun]

7. No evidence yet that consuming ginger will have an effect.

"The researchers' next step is to determine if ginger can achieve similar results in animals."

This experiment was a direct topical application of a ginger solution to cancer cells. It'll be a long leap to knowing whether consumption of ginger has helpful effects.

[Celebration]

10. Totally agree with you

Having said that, curcumin was first found to have an effect in vitro, and then later in vivo, in cancer cells. Interestingly, when I did a search for it, I found the LEF website, where it described it as a "ginger like" plant.

In any case, I have a big shaker full of turmeric and use it a lot on meat. Honestly, though I can get too much ginger pretty easily.

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2002/jul2002_report_curcumin_01.html

Here is a Pubmed abstract that names a lot of different foods to fight cancer, and right there in the abstact quotes Hippocrates-

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16563357&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum

[scarletwoman]

8. Ginger is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a sort of "booster" --

it has the property of helping the body absorb and metabolize the active ingredients of whatever other medicinals are bing used. Actually, licorice root is the preferred additive to herbal compounds for this purpose, but ginger is substituted for people (like me) who have an adverse reaction to licorice.

Also, ginger by itself is an excellent digestive system balancer; especially effective for nausea, but can also be helpful for heartburn, gas or diarrhea.

When my oldest son was a child (20 some years ago) he had terrible carsickness. I had heard about ginger being good for nausea and decided to give it a try. I bought empty gel capsules and filled them with powdered ginger. Four caps before a long car trip -- we were doing a nomad thing between Washington state, California and Minnesota at the time -- and the carsickness was gone!

Some years ago I read about a study that found that ginger was more effective than Dramamine for motion sickness -- sorry, I have no link, it was back in my pre-internet days.

Anyway, all of this is to say that ginger is a wonderful medicinal plant -- not to mention the glories of its culinary uses! -- and it is not suprising to me that it may prove to be a strong ally in cancer treatment.

sw

[HysteryDiagnosis]

14. Indole Three Carbinol.... for the invitro vs invivo flap

1: Mol Med. 2006 Mar 22; Related Articles, Links
Click here to read
Indole-3-Carbinol Prevents PTEN Loss in Cervical Cancer In Vivo.

Qi M, Anderson AE, Chen DZ, Sun S, Auborn KJ.

Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA.

Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) is a phytochemical (derived from broccoli, cabbage, and other cruciferous vegetables) with proven anticancer efficacy including the reduction of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and its progression to cervical cancer. In a breast cancer cell line, I3C inhibited cell adhesion, spreading, and invasion associated with an upregulation of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN, suggesting that PTEN is important in inhibition of late stages in the development of cancer. The goal of this study was to determine the expression of PTEN during the development of cervical cancer and whether I3C affected expression of PTEN in vivo. We show diminished PTEN expression during the progression from low-grade to high-grade cervical dysplasia in humans and in a mouse model for cervical cancer, the K14HPV16 transgenic mice promoted with estrogen. The implication is that loss of PTEN function is required for this transition. Additionally, dietary I3C increased PTEN expression in the cervical epithelium of the transgenic mouse, an observation that suggests PTEN upregulation by I3C is one mechanism by which I3C inhibits development of cervical cancer.

PMID: 16557333