Toxic Mediterranean "death carrot" could help treat cancer

A toxic chemical found in a Mediterranean plant is being developed into a potential new drug by an international team of researchers.

The plant Thapsia garganica – sometimes called the ‘death carrot’ – contains thapsigargin, an extremely toxic chemical.
It kills cells, including cancer cells, by blocking a protein called SERCA, which helps cells control their internal calcium levels. This makes thapsigargin toxic to both dividing and resting cells – unlike current cancer drugs, which target only cells that are rapidly dividing.

In theory this means that drugs based on thapsigargin could target slower-growing cancers as well as cancer ‘stem cells’ – the treatment-resistant cells that some researchers think fuel the disease.

In new research, published today in Science Translational Medicine, a team of US and Danish researchers have shown that an experimental drug based on thapsigargin is able to treat tumours in mice, and appears to be relatively non-toxic.

To create the experimental drug, the team  modified thapsigargin by linking it to a short protein-based molecule called a peptide, rendering it non-toxic.

The peptide is designed to only be removed by a second protein, known as PSMA, which is found in high concentrations on the surface of many different types of cancer.

This means that when the peptide-linked thiapsigargin – known as G202 - comes into contact with cancer cells that bear PSMA, the peptide is removed, and the thiapsigargin kills any cells in the immediate environment.

Henry Scowcroft, science information manager at Cancer Research UK, said the idea of a 'pro-drug', which uses an inert chemical which becomes activated once it gets near to a tumour, is not a new one, as other attempts have been made to create them in the past.
But he noted that trials of these drugs have often been unsuccessful because "either the drug doesn’t get sufficiently activated in the tumour, or, more usually, it is unstable and gets released into the bloodstream, causing unacceptable toxicity".

Recent advances in chemistry have started to address this problem, he added.
Commenting on the latest results, Mr Scowcroft added: "There are still many hurdles to be overcome. For example, we need to know how this experimental drug behaves in the bloodstream of people with cancer, rather than in laboratory models."

While it could eventually become a useful tool for doctors to combine with other treatments, he emphasised that the treatment still has to be proven to be safe and effective in large trials.

G202 is currently being tested on 28 US patients who have advanced cancer, to find out more about how toxic it is. Larger trials are planned if this proves successful.

Original Article: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/news/archive/cancernews/2012-06-27-Toxic-Mediterranean-death-carrot-could-help-treat-cancer

Carrots - The Crunchy Orange Power Food

Ok, you can forget about having to buy vitamin A pills, because with this crunchy orange power food, you get all the vitamin A you’re going to need and a whole host of other powerful health benefits including beautiful skin, anti-aging and cancer prevention.

The Benefits of Carrots

1.  Improved Vision
The vitamin A found in carrots is good for the eyes. It doesn’t help you see in the dark, that was a myth invented by the RAF during World War II.  However, they are rich in beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the liver.  The Vitamin A travels in the blood to the retina (in the eye) where it is converted into a chemical called "retinal". When light hits this retinal chemical, it changes shape. This starts off a process, which ends with electricity travelling to the visual centres at the back of the brain - which turn the electricity into the wall-to-wall sensation that we call vision.

2.  Cancer Prevention
Studies have shown carrots can help in reducing the risk of lung cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer. Scientists have just discovered falcarinol and falcarindiol may have anti-cancer properties.  The chemicals are used in root vegetables as a natural pesticide to stave off fungal disease like rot, so it seems highly probable that these same properties can aid against the growth of cancer cells.  Carrots are one of the only common sources of this compound. In a study performed in mice, a third showed a reduced cancer risk from eating carrots.

3.  Anti-Aging
The beta-carotene in carrots acts as a powerful antioxidant, which helps slow down the aging of cells.  Antioxidants are substances that may protect your cells against the effects of free radicals. Free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation. Free radicals can damage cells, and may play a role in heart disease, cancer and other diseases.

4.  Healthy Glowing Skin (from the inside)
The vitamin A and antioxidants found in carrots can help protect the skin from sun damage. Dry skin, hair and nails can be a sure sign that you aren’t getting enough vitamin A. Vitamin A helps prevents premature wrinkling, acne, dry skin, pigmentation, blemishes, and uneven skin tone.

6.  Beautiful Skin (from the outside)
Not only a benefit internally, you can use carrots as an inexpensive and convenient facial mask.  Just mix finely grated carrot with a bit of honey.

7.  Prevent Heart Disease
Studies have shown that diets high in carotenoids found in carrots are associated with a lower risk of heart disease. A regular diet that includes carrots also helps reduce cholesterol levels because the soluble fibers in carrots bind with bile acids.

8.  Cleanse the Body
A great body cleanser; the vitamin A helps the lover flush toxins out of the body. And the fibers help clean out the colon and hasten waste movement.

9.  Healthy Teeth and Gums
Of course, it’s all in the crunch! Carrots help clean your teeth and mouth, scraping off plaque and food particles just like toothbrushes or toothpaste.  This mastication also  stimulate gums and triggers saliva, which being alkaline, balances out the acid-forming, cavity-forming bacteria.  And the minerals in carrots prevent tooth damage.

10.  Prevent Stroke:
And finally a Harvard University study found that people who ate more than six carrots a week are less likely to suffer a stroke than those who ate only one carrot a month or less.

A pretty super food!

Some Fun Facts about Carrots

Carrots are the second most popular type of vegetable after potatoes.

The biggest carrot recorded is more than 19 pounds and the longest is over 19 feet!

There are over 100 species of carrots, some are big,  some are small and they come in a variety of colors including: orange, purple, white, yellow, and red.

The name “carrot” comes from the Greek word “karoton.” 

Fossil pollen from the Eocene period (55 to 34 million years ago) has been identified as belonging to the Apiaceae (the carrot family). 

The Anglo-Saxons included carrots as an ingredient in a medicinal drink against the devil and insanity.

The average person will consume 10,866 carrots in a lifetime

Watch how the Americans harvest carrots today! : http://youtu.be/tkcT0JNC3OY

Why no listen to the carrot song: http://youtu.be/EWTd0BMdtvg

Why not make our Classic Carrot Cake

Ingredients

300g plain flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g soft brown sugar

4 eggs

250ml oil

1 orange, zested

1 lemon, zested

200g carrots, finely grated

150g walnuts, chopped

125g unsalted butter at room temperature

50g icing sugar

250g cream cheese

Method

Heat the oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Line a 20cm, 10cm deep cake tin. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together and stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs with the oil and citrus zests. Stir in the carrots and fold everything into the flour mixture. Fold in the walnuts and pineapple if using. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool.

For the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until soft and then beat in the cream cheese. Chill the mixture until it's thick but spreadable. Spread a thick layer on top of the cake, making sure the side of the icing is flat and continues upwards from the side of the cake.