Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Indole-3-Carbinol (found in cruciferous vegetables) has been found to be able to help with breast cell health.
Cruciferous vegetables, which include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, turnip, and radish (1) owe their health-promoting properties to antioxidants called indoles (2). One such indole is called Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C).
A recent study (3) has found how Indole-3-Carbinol is able to help with breast cell health. Previous research has shown that cruciferous vegetable consumption decreases the risk of reproductive tissue cancer (4). In the new study, researchers identified the first target of Indole-3-Carbinol in breast cancer to be a protein called elastase, which is highly expressed in human breast cancers and has been implicated in tumor progression (5). Specifically, the researchers treated late stage breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 cells) with 100 micromoles of Indole-3-Carbinol, resulting in decreased production of inflammatory cells that promote cancer progression.
The importance of this study is not only that breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the biggest cancer killer of American women. It caused an estimated 40,580 deaths in 2004 (6) and accounted for up to 25% of the $157 billion in cancer costs in the U.S. in 2001 (7). “A critical challenge” in controlling breast cancer is finding therapies that can control breast cancer progression with reduced side effects, especially during prolonged treatments. They may now have their therapy in Indole-3-Carbinol and their therapy target in elastase.
For the researchers, “our results demonstrate that elastase is the first identified specific target protein for Indole-3-Carbinol and…implicates the potential use of this indole, or related compounds, in targeted therapies of human breast cancers.”
Source: “The dietary phytochemical indole-3-carbinol is a natural elastase enzymatic inhibitor that disrupts cyclin E protein processing“, printed online December 8, 2008 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Posted July 3, 2009.
References:
- Keck AS, Finley JW. Cruciferous vegetables: cancer protective mechanisms of glucosinolate hydrolysis products and selenium. Integr Cancer Ther. 2004;3:5–12.
- Pedras MS, Nycholat CM, Montaut S, Xu Y, Khan AQ. Chemical defenses of crucifers: elicitation and metabolism of phytoalexins and indole-3-acetonitrile in brown mustard and turnip. Phytochemistry 2002;59:611–25.
- HigdonJV,DelageB, WilliamsDE,DashwoodRH(2007) Cruciferous vegetables and human cancer risk: Epidemiologic evidence and mechanistic basis. Pharmacol Res 55:224–236.
- Nguyen HH. The dietary phytochemical indole-3-carbinol is a natural elastase enzymatic inhibitor that disrupts cyclin E protein processing. lPNAS published online before print December 8, 2008.
- Sato T, et al. (2006) Neutrophil elastase and cancer. Surg Oncol 15:217–222.
- “2004/2005 Fact Sheet Cancer Registries: The Foundation for Cancer Prevention and Control” posted on the CDC website.
- Radice D. Breast cancer management: quality-of-life and cost considerations. Pharmacoeconomics 2003;21(6):383-96.
