RESEARCH INFORMATION SAPONINS
DESCRIPTION OF SAPONINS
HEALTH BENEFITS OF SAPONINS
SAPONINS INHIBITS GROWTH OF CANCER CELLS
SAPONINS AS CHOLESTEROL LOWERING AGENT
SAPONINS AS AN IMMUNE BOOST
SAPONINS AS A NATURAL ANTIBIOTIC
SAPONINS BOOST ENERGY
SAPONIN RESOURCES
Saponins, What will they think of next?
TEA POLYPHENOLS
What are they?
What do the data show?
Complementary names
Polyphenols slow PROSTATE CANCER cell growth DESCRIPTION OF SAPONINS Saponins are glycoside compounds often referred to as a "natural
detergent" because of their foamy texture. Saponins are in a diverse group to glycosides. Saponins are mainly of the triterpenoidal type, being the oleanolic acid and the hedagenin the main
constituents. SAPONIN CHEMISTRY: Saponins are glycosidic compounds
composed of a steroid (c-27) or triterpenoid (C30) saponin nucleus with one or more carbohydrate branches. The proposed mechanism of anticarcinogenic properties of saponins include
antioxidant effect, direct and select cytotoxicity of cancer cells, immune-modulation, acid and neutral sterol metabolism and regulation of cell proliferation. Among the chemical properties of saponins,
their polarity, hydophobicity and nature of the reactive groups seem important determinants of their biological properties.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF SAPONINS
SAPONINS INHIBITS GROWTH OF CANCER CELLS Recent studies at University of Toronto, Department of Nutritional Science, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada have indicated that dietary sources of saponins offer preferential chemo preventive strategy in lowering the risk of human cancers. One of the most exciting prospects for saponins is how they appear to inhibit or
kill cancer cells. They may also be able to do it without killing normal cells in the process that is the mode of present cancer-fighting drugs. Cancer cells have more cholesterol-type compounds
in their membranes than normal cells. saponins can bind cholesterol and thus interfere with cell growth and division. While drugs have side effect, many of them serious, saponins are safe. Dr. A.V. Rao, professor and researcher at the University of Toronto and his colleagues believe the saponins may even help prevent colon cancer. Normally, bile acid pours into the stomach to
help absorb fats from foods. Some bacteria in the large intestine turn the bile into a substance that is highly carcinogenic. That is why a high-fat diet increases the risk of colon cancer.
Research suggests that when saponins travel through, they stop the toxic material from forming. SAPONINS AS CHOLESTEROL LOWERING AGENT
Saponins are widely being researched for cholesterol control. The blood cholesterol-lowering properties of dietary saponins are of particular interest in human nutrition. One of the most
prominent research programs on this subject was that of Dr. Rene Malinow, Oregon Regional Primate Center that demonstrated unequivocally the cholesterol-lowering properties of saponins. Saponins cause
a depletion of body cholesterol by preventing its reabsorption, this increasing its excretion, in much the same way as other cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as cholestyramine. Saponis have been found to be
useful in the treatment for hypercholesterolaemia. Saponins bind with cholesterol so it cannot be re-absorbed into the system and is excreted from the body.
SAPONINS AS AN IMMUNE BOOST Saponins have long been known to
have strong biological activity. When studying the effect that saponins have on plants, it has been discovered that saponins are the plants' active immune system. Research looks very promising
that the effect from saponins are indeed being transferred to the human body when ingested SAPONINS AS A NATURAL ANTIBIOTIC
Saponins function as a "natural antibiotic" for plants and now scientists are looking at how they can help humans fight fungal infections,
combat microbes and viruses, boost the effectiveness of certain vaccines. Their natural tendency toward off microbes may prove to be especially useful for treating those difficult to control fungal and
yeast infections. SAPONINS BOOST ENERGY. As we eliminate toxic buildup we have move vitality, health that in turns relates to more energy. SAPONIN RESOURCES Symposium, Brussels, Belgium, September, 1996.
Natural and Applied Science, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin
National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Peoria, Illinois
Saybury laboratory, Norwich, United Kingdom
Linus Paling Institute/Oregon State University
Peter R. Cheeke, Ph.D.
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Oregon Regional Primate Center, published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1997
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990
Richard Lipkin, Science News, Vol. 148, 1995
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1990, D. Oakenfull and G. Sidhu
Understand Vitamins and Mineral, 1964 Rodale Press, Page 129
Masai Diet Wards Off Heart Disease, Boris Weintraub, Geographica
Amazing Medicines The Drug Companies Don't Want you to Discover, University Medical Research Publishers, 1993, Page 219
Yucca - The food
supplement that helps prevent and treat arthritis and high blood pressure, Shideler Harpe, Arthritis News Today, Vol. 2, No. 6, March 1980 Back to Top
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Saponins, What will they think of next?
Saponins for Health: What will they think of next?First it was fiber. Then it was antioxidants. Now
it is saponins, a wide variety of phytochemicals naturally present in plant foods. These components, many sweet-tasting and some health-promoting, are under close scrutiny by
nutrition researchers on how they prevent and treat disease.Saponins-found in grains such as oats and many vegetables from legumes and potatoes to
spinach, tomatoes and alfalfa sprouts have long been known to have strong biological activity. Many of these compounds serve as "natural antibiotics" for the plant but now scientists are
looking at how they can help humans fight fungal infections, combat microbes and viruses, boost the effectiveness of certain vaccine and knock out some kinds of tumor cells particularly lung and
blood cancers. They can also lower blood cholesterol thereby reducing heart disease. Their natural tendency to ward off microbes may prove to be especially useful for treating those difficult
to control fungal and yeast infections. One of the most exciting prospects for saponins are how they appear to inhibit or kill cancer
cells. They may also be able to do it without killing normal cells in the process as is the mode of present cancer-fighting drugs. Cancer cells have more cholesterol-type compounds in their
membranes than normal cells. Saponins can bind cholesterol and thus interfere with cell growth and division. While drugs have side effects, many of them serious, saponins are safe. There is
little possibility that a person can overdose on saponins from eating vegetables. They are broken down in the digestive tract into cholesterol-like compounds and sugars.
Researchers are now looking at their possible risks if taken in larger doses like drugs. An added saponin bonus is their taste. Many of them are sweet-as much as 200 times the potency of table
sugar (sucrose). Used as a sweetener in such small amounts, they would not promote tooth decay, our most prevalent chronic disease. So, why limit your vegetables to three-a-day?
Besides being low-calorie, vegetables have all sorts of compounds besides nutrients and water to help you stay healthy. Vegetables look so good and taste so much better than pills. Load up
your shopping cart now with vegetables rather than pay the pharmacist later. If you have trouble using up vegetables before they spoil, buy them frozen or select a variety from
the salad bar. Or, arrange with a friend to share your surpluses if the cauliflower or leaf lettuce is too big. He or she may split a bag of potatoes or a bunch of fresh spinach in return. And always
keep cans of different kinds of beans on your shelves. What could be faster than canned kidney beans on a bed of greens, whole wheat bread, a glass of skim milk and a piece of fruit for that
"sweet-something" at the end of the meal? Mary Clarke, Ph.D.Extension Specialist, Nutrition Education 3/96 File: NUTRITION, NORMAL/General K-State Research and Extension is a short
name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the
well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research
centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.
Saponins may have potential in human health issues because they reduce serum cholesterol by
preventing its reabsorption after it has been excreted in the bile. It is hypothesized that the saponins either bind with bile salts or cause the bile salts to bind to the polysaccharides in
dietary fiber. Either way the bile salts are unavailable to bind with cholesterol. Unfortunately, the feeding of alfalfa saponins to hens has not resulted in low cholesterol eggs!
Mary Clarke, Ph.D.
Extension Specialist, Nutrition Education Kansas State University
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Tea Polyphenols
What are they?
Tea polyphenols are compounds in tea leaves that are natural plant antioxidants. Antioxidants
have been shown to prevent damage caused by free radicals to DNA and other molecules.How do they work? Tea polyphenols have demonstrated several cancer preventive properties. In addition to
antioxidant activity, these compounds may reduce abnormal cell growth and inflammation; help the body get rid of cancer-causing agents; and restore communication between different cells in the body. What do the data show?
The relationship between tea consumption and human cancer has been studied in several different populations and at various cancer sites. Some of the studies comparing tea drinkers to
non-tea drinkers support the claim that tea-drinking prevents cancer, others do not. Dietary, environmental, and population differences may account for these inconsistencies. In animal
studies, different tea extracts, tea polyphenol mixtures, purified tea components, and tea infusions as the sole drinking fluid have more consistently been shown to prevent cancer,
including cancers of the colon, esophagus, liver, stomach, lung, breast, pancreas, and skin. The purified component, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), prevented colon cancer, but did not
prevent cancer of the esophagus in animal models. A polyphenol mixture with EGCG, called Polyphenon E, has also shown cancer preventive properties in animals. Animal studies were
inconclusive as to whether EGCG or Polyphenol E caused DNA mutations that might trigger cancer growth. Both EGCG and Polyphenon E are being tested for safety and efficacy in humans. Complementary Names
Chemical name: |
Various |
Also known as: |
Green Tea Polyphenols, Green Tea Water Extract, Black Tea Polyphenols, Black Tea Water Extract, Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG),
Polyphenon E (Mitsui-Norin, Ltd.), Topical Polyphenon E (Epitome Pharmaceuticals Ltd.) |
Category: |
Phytochemical |
Green and black tea polyphenols consumption results in slower prostate cancer cell growth
In the first known study of the absorption and anti-tumor effects of green and black tea polyphenols in human tissue, researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles were
able to detect tea polyphenols in prostate tissue after a very limited consumption of tea. More importantly, the scientists found that prostate cancer cells grew more slowly when placed in
a medium containing blood serum of men who had consumed either green or black tea for five days compared to serum collected before the men began their tea-drinking regimen. Serum
from men who drank comparable amounts of diet or regular soda showed no such slowing in cancer cell proliferation. The study was reported at Experimental Biology 2004, in Washington, D.C., as part of the
scientific program of the American Society of Nutritional Sciences, one of the six sponsoring scientific societies of this large multi-disciplinary meeting.
Recent animal and epidemiological studies have suggested tea may have anti-tumor effects against carcinoma of the prostate, and many of the polyphenolic components of tea have been
found in the prostate and many other tissues in rats and mice after chronic consumption of green tea polyphenols in drinking water.
Dr. Susanne Henning, UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, says the UCLA research team - a combination of nutrition scientists and urologists - focused on the possible effect of tea
polyphenols on factors named polyamines and the enzymes responsible for the production of polyamines. Elevated levels of polyamines have been associated with malignancy in humans,
including prostate cancer, and - since polyamines are present in prostate tissue in high concentration - are considered a logical target for chemoprevention of prostate cancer.
Five days before they were to undergo radical prostatectomy, 20 men with prostate cancer were randomly assigned to consume daily either five cups of green tea, five cups of black tea, or diet
or regular soda containing no tea polyphenols. Their blood serum was then collected and added to prostate tissue samples from a commercially available prostate cancer cell line called LNCaP.
Analysis of the prostate tissue showed a large variation in tea polyphenol content between study participants. Tea polyphenols were found in six out of eight participants drinking green tea,
seven out of seven drinking black tea, and two out of five drinking soda. The fact that two of the control participants showed polyphenols in the prostate sample might be because they were
eating chocolate regularly or drinking tea before entering the study. Chocolate does contain the polyphenols epicatechin and epicatechingallate, and the turnover rate of these polyphenols - how
long they might remain in tissue - is not known. They are water-soluble and are all excreted after eight hours. The maximum concentration in plasma is after two to three hours.
But two important factors were different in the men who drank tea and those who did not during the five-day study.
When the scientists compared the level of total polyamine to the total polyphenol content, the tea drinkers showed a significant negative correlation - the more tea components in the tissue, the
less of the polyamines associated with malignancy. And when the scientists measured the proliferation of prostate cancer cells, there was a
significant decrease in how fast new cancer cells appeared for the men who had consumed either green or black tea. That was true even when no tea components could be detected in the
serum, indicating, says Dr. Henning, that the inhibition of cell proliferation was caused by other compounds altered through tea consumption.
Prostate cancer is one of the common cancers among males in the United States, and more than a fourth of all those patients with prostate cancer are known to use alternative therapies,
including green tea. This study suggests that both black and green tea are promising natural dietary supplements useful for chemoprevention of prostate cancer, according to Dr. Henning.
She plans to investigate if this effect can be enhanced by consuming larger amounts of tea polyphenols in the form of green tea extract supplement capsules. Dr. Henning's co-authors are Yantao Niu, Nicolas H. Lee, Francisco Conde, Pakshan Leun, Jenny Hong, George Csathy, Hossein Ziaee, Vay L.
W. Go, David Heber, and William J. Aronson, of UCLA's Center for Human Nutrition, Department of Urology, and Department of Physiology. Back to Top
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White tea extract polyphenols |
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