CAM

Grape seed promise in fight against bowel cancer
Published in the prestigious journal PLOS ONE, the researchers say that combining grape seed extracts with chemotherapy has potential as a new approach for bowel cancer treatment - to both reduce intestinal damage commonly caused by cancer chemotherapy and to enhance its effect. MedicalXpress

Vitamin B12 accelerates worm development
Walhout and colleagues say that this system can also be adapted to identify genetic and physiological changes caused by other micronutrients in C. elegans. With the proper human analogs, it's possible that we could one day predict the precise interaction between diet, gene expression and physiology that occurs when we eat a carrot, hamburger, steak or any other food. Doing so might someday lead to new insights into a variety of conditions or diseases such as high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also be used to explore the precise benefits of bacteria found in gut flora. Eurekalert!

Natural compounds as anticancer agents: Experimental evidence
Experimental studies in animal models demonstrate that the reversal or suppression of premalignant lesions by chemopreventive agents is achievable. Natural occurring agents such as dietary phytochemicals, tea polyphenols and resveratrol show chemopreventive activity in animal models. Moreover, clinical trials for testing the safety and efficacy of a variety of natural agents in preventing or treating human malignancy have been ongoing. Here, we summarize experimental data on the chemopreventive or tumor suppressive effects of several natural compounds including curcumin, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, resveratrol, indole-3-carbinol, and vitamin D. Wang J, Jiang YF. World J Exp Med. 2012 Jun 20;2(3):45-57. eCollection 2012 Jun 20. Review. PMID: 24520533