About one-third of all cancers are diet-related, so cancer prevention strategies usually focus on foods which reduce the development of malignancy. Beta-cryptoxanthin is a carotenoid related to vitamin A, and hesperidin is a flavonoid, both of which are known to inhibit cancer formation in various tissues. Of interest, fruits and vegetables contain only small amounts of beta-cryptoxanthin and hesperidin.
In this study, the authors prepared a pulp containing high levels of beta-cryptoxanthin and hesperidin in the process of making juice from Satsuma mandarins. The effects of these dietary products on rats with colon cancer, tongue cancer and lung cancer development were studied. The ingested pulp inhibited the formation of colon cancers in animals which were given injections of a chemical which causes colon cancer. The pulp suppressed the formation of squamous cell tongue cancers, and lung tumors were inhibited by the beta-cryptoxanthin and hesperidin rich juices.
The citrus pulp increased liver detoxifying enzymes and reduced inflammatory chemicals (cytokines) and inflammatory enzymes in colon, tongue and lung tissues by laboratory studies. (There is an accepted association between chronic inflammation and the development of cancer.)
CONCLUSION: High beta-cryptoxanthin and hesperidin pulp and juices prevent some types of cancers. These findings help in developing cancer prevention strategies for colon, tongue and lung cancers using citrus fruit pulp and juices.
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PMID: 22174562.
Summary #547.
