A green tea extract has been shown to inhibit the metabolism of cancerous cells in the pancreas.
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousDiscovered another properties of green tea, known and appreciated for its beneficial antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, etc. effects. New research carried out in the United States wanted to experiment green tea extract against pancreatic cancer, a particularly aggressive form of cancer.
The study, conducted at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute in Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and coordinated by Dr. Wai-Nang Lee, specifically studied effects of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the best known active ingredient in green tea, on pancreatic cancer cells.
The researchers could thus see that EGCG is able to be particularly active against pancreatic cancer cells, blocking LDHA (an enzyme that the tumor uses for its growth) and consequently the metabolism of cancer cells. Scientists also discovered an enzyme inhibitor, oxamate, which is known to reduce LDHA activity by doing the same: by destroying the metabolism of cancerous cells in the pancreas.
'Scientists believed they needed a molecular mechanism to cure cancer, but this study shows that it can change the metabolic system and impact cancer. By demonstrating how an active component in green tea could prevent cancer, this study opens the door to a new area of cancer research and helps us understand how other foods can also prevent cancer or slow the growth of cancerous cells. (…) Now we understand how cancer cell metabolism can be disrupted, ”said Wai-Nang Lee.
This research, published in Metabolomics, is further confirmation of how the green tea is an important one ally in cancer prevention.
Read also:
- Green tea: does it really help you lose weight?
- Green tea: 10 amazing health benefits
- Green tea: a natural concentrate of antioxidants
