Edible plants can develop cancer prevention drugs and functional foods

Malignant tumor is a powerful killer that threatens human health and life Because of environmental pollution and lifestyle changes, the incidence rate and mortality rate of cancer continue to rise For most types of cancer, what medical experts can do is only to prolong the life of patients No wonder the general public often talk about cancer discoloration At the 2010 Beijing Pharmaceutical annual meeting held on December 18 last year, Wang Kui, a famous inorganic chemist, Professor of Peking University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that in the war against cancer, cancer prevention is better than cancer prevention Targeted interventions should be carried out at the stages of cancer initiation, precancerous lesions, cancer in situ, etc many compounds with cancer prevention effects can be derived from natural edible plants In addition, pharmaceutical companies can consider developing blockers and inhibitors for cancer development stage from edible plants Prevention is better than fighting against Wang Kui's thematic report at the meeting pointed out that the anti-cancer strategy of "eliminating cancer cells" in the 20th century has proved to be unsuccessful, because "it is difficult to completely wipe out the cancer after it has become a potential", and there are problems of "cutting branches and doing strong things" and "it is hard to distinguish between enemy and ourselves" However, the epidemiological survey shows that the cancer mortality rate of American men has declined since 1990, which is related to some preventive measures: the U.S government warned that smoking caused lung cancer in 1979, and advocated to quit smoking, so that the death rate of male lung cancer decreased; and the use of aspirin reduced the risk of colorectal cancer "Aspirin prevention of colorectal cancer is the first case of chemical cancer prevention, opening the door to the use of NSAIDs for cancer prevention." According to the report of Academician Wang Kui, it usually takes several years or decades for cancer to develop from initiation to mild precancerous lesions to malignant tumors This process is timely to intervene and reverse, so as to stop the occurrence and development of cancer Therefore, we should sum up the experience and change the strategy from eliminating cancer cells in the past to intervening in the process of cancer occurrence and development For the start-up stage of cancer, the development of blockers, for the promotion and development stage of cancer, the development of inhibitors In addition to chemical drugs, botanical drugs and microelements, Professor Wang Kui focused on the derivatives of edible plant ingredients, from which we can find new lead compounds and develop new drugs, or find new pharmacological effects and new targets, or develop dietary supplements and functional foods "It is very promising to develop new drugs derived from edible plant ingredients At present, China has not given enough attention, and foreign countries have developed rapidly " In the process of carcinogen metabolism and the occurrence and development of cancer, there is a phase II enzyme which can eliminate carcinogens and inhibit the transformation from normal cells to tumor cells Among the edible plant components, such as coumarin derivatives, flavonoids and chalcone, curcumin derivatives, cinnamic acid derivatives, conjugated polyene, phenylbutene ketone, isothiocyanogen compounds, etc., all can develop phase II enzyme inducers and become cancer blockers Taking the compound isothiocyanate contained in Cauliflower as an example, in the late 1970s, scientists found that Cruciferae Plants contain active substances that promote the expression of phase II metabolizing enzymes, while the increased activity of phase II metabolizing enzymes helps to inhibit the transformation of normal cells to tumor cells Subsequently, scientists identified the active component as isothiocyanate, and found a large number of isothiocyanates in the cauliflower seedlings, which laid a foundation for the application of such substances in cancer prevention At present, it has been found that many edible plants contain anti-cancer substances For example, curcumin contained in curry can inhibit prostate cancer, lymph cancer and other cancer cells; isothiocyanate contained in broccoli, cabbage and other cruciferous plants also has cancer prevention effect; lycopene in tomato can inhibit the development of prostate cancer by inducing the production of antioxidant enzymes, inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells and other processes; Allicin and aho in garlic and onion Alkene can kill Helicobacter pylori and has certain preventive effect on gastrointestinal cancer According to Academician Wang Kui, cancer prevention is the general trend There are so many anti-cancer ingredients in plants that can be used Pharmaceutical factories should consider developing drugs or functional foods from them.