Posted Feb 15, 2010
The health attributes of the pomegranate — that ancient fruit that hasn’t reached the mainstream after thousands of years — received a new boost today in a study noting the possibility it prevents growth of breast cancer.
Pomegranates contain six compounds that may prevent growth by blocking an enzyme that plays a key role in the development of hormone-dependent breast cancer, said Shiuan Chen, director of City of Hope’s Division of Tumor Cell Biology.
The findings of Chen and his team were published in today’s issue of “Cancer Prevention Research.”
Hormone-dependent breast cancer accounts for 70 percent of breast cancers, Chen said.
Previous research has shown pomegranate juice to be effective in reducing or delaying the recurrence of prostate cancer after surgery, said Dr. David Heber, director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition.
Heber said studies done in Israel show that pomegranates are effective in reducing and stabilizing the buildup of plaque in cardiac arteries, a major cause of heart attacks.
Heber, a member of Chen’s research team, said planning is underway for a human study involving breast cancer and pomegranates. Animal testing is ongoing, he added.
Richard Hartman, a neurobiologist in the Department of Psychology at Loma Linda University, said that his research showed memory and functional improvements for laboratory mice with genetically engineered Alzheimer’s disease, when they were fed pomegranate juice.
Hartman said he is beginning a clinical human trial to see if pomegranate juice will improve memory outcomes for people who have open heart surgery.
It’s theorized, Hartman said, that some people suffer a series of mini-strokes during open-heart surgery which can permanently impair their memory.
Hartman’s experiment would show whether or not pomegranate juice could reduce that memory loss.
Because extracting juice is difficult — and the sugar content is high — Hartman’s human subjects take pomegranate extract pills.
Roberto Argentina, owner and chef of Redland’s Farm Artesian Foods Restaurant, said his trick for eating the good part of the fruit is to cut pomegranate’s in half and soak them in water for about a half hour, then scoop out the seeds, along with the surrounding pulp and place them in a blender.
Pomegranate trees throughout the region have been in their fruit-bearing season for several months.
Date: Feb 7, 2009 To see more of the San Bernardino County Sun, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sbsun.com.
Copyright © 2010, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif. IL 60025, USA.