A new research suggests that apigenin, a chemical present in chamomile tea could help prevent cancer. Apigenin in general is thought to weaken and reduce the 'superpowers' of cancer cells, thereby making them easy to defeat.
Researchers from the Ohio State University discovered that this very chemical actually helps block the ability of cancer cells to survive longer than normal cells, reduce their life span and make them more susceptible to drugs and therapies.
Apart from chamomile, parsley and celery too are rich sources of apigenin, which make them must-have foods for those at a higher risk of cancer. Also, further studies revealed that foods that are common in a typical Mediterranean diet do contain moderate to high amounts of apigenin, making the Mediterranean diet one of the best anti-cancer diets.
Apigenin is also thought to correct RNA abnormalities which make up for around 80 percent of cancers.
"We know we need to eat healthfully, but in most cases we do not know the actual mechanistic reasons for why we need to do that.
We see here the beneficial effect on health is attributed to this dietary nutrient affecting many proteins.
In its relationship with a set of specific proteins, apigenin re-establishes the normal profile in cancer cells. We think this can have great value clinically as a potential cancer-prevention strategy," molecular geneticist Professor Andrea Doseff from the State Ohio University, said.
Cancer cells are able to survive for longer periods in the human body due to their ability to inhibit any process that would cause them to die.
Consuming foods rich in apigenin could help stop the cancer cells from inhibiting processes that cause them to die, thereby weakening them and making them much more susceptible to any form of treatment.
Unlike most pharmaceutical drugs, which target a specific molecule, the apigenin binds to more than 160 proteins in the body, activating mechanisms that help kill cancer cells.
What's more, apigenin is also assumed to have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Whoa!
With multiple cellular targets, apigenin may prove to have many more health benefits that originally assumed, scientists think.
Looks like we have a new weapon to combat cancer!
