QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by El-Bayoumy, K. Articles by Rivlin, R. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by El-Bayoumy, K. Articles by Rivlin, R. S.

---

Supplement: Significance of Garlic and Its Constituents in Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease

Cancer Chemoprevention by Garlic and Garlic-Containing Sulfur and Selenium Compounds^1–3,

Karam El-Bayoumy^*,4, Raghu Sinha^*, John T. Pinto and Richard S. Rivlin^**

^* Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033; Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Cornell-Burke Medical Research Institute, White Plains, NY 10605; and ^** Anne Fisher Nutrition Center, Clinical Nutrition Research Unit, Strang Cancer Prevention Laboratory, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021

⁴ To whom correspondence should be addressed: Email: kee2{at}psu.edu.

As early as 1550 B.C., Egyptians realized the benefits of garlic as a remedy for a variety of diseases. Many epidemiological studies support the protective role of garlic and related allium foods against the development of certain human cancers. Natural garlic and garlic cultivated with selenium fertilization have been shown in laboratory animals to have protective roles in cancer prevention. Certain organoselenium compounds and their sulfur analogs have been identified in plants. Organoselenium compounds synthesized in our laboratory were compared with their sulfur analogs for chemopreventive efficacy. Diallyl selenide was at least 300-fold more effective than diallyl sulfide in protecting against 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary adenocarcinomas in rats. In addition, benzyl selenocyanate inhibited the development of DMBA-induced mammary adenocarcinomas and azoxymethane-induced colon cancer in rats and benzo[a]pyrene-induced forestomach tumors in mice. The sulfur analog, benzyl thiocyanate, had no effect under the same experimental conditions. Furthermore, we showed that 1,4-phenylenebis(methylene)selenocyanate, but not its sulfur analog, significantly inhibited DMBA-DNA adduct formation and suppressed DMBA-induced mammary carcinogenesis. Collectively, these results indicate that structurally distinctive organoselenium compounds are superior to their corresponding sulfur analogs in cancer chemoprevention. Additionally, synthetic aromatic selenocyanates are more effective cancer chemopreventive agents than the naturally occurring selenoamino acids. Because plants are capable of utilizing selenium in a manner similar to that in sulfur assimilation pathways, future studies should aim at determining whether, under appropriate conditions, these potent cancer chemopreventive synthetic selenium compounds can be synthesized by garlic and related allium foods.

KEY WORDS: • carcinogenesis • chemoprevention • garlic • selenium • sulfur

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Bardia, I. M. Tleyjeh, J. R. Cerhan, A. K. Sood, P. J. Limburg, P. J. Erwin, and V. M. Montori Efficacy of Antioxidant Supplementation in Reducing Primary Cancer Incidence and Mortality: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Mayo Clin. Proc., January 1, 2008; 83(1): 23 - 34. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. N. T. Ngo, D. B. Williams, L. Cobiac, and R. J. Head Does Garlic Reduce Risk of Colorectal Cancer? A Systematic Review J. Nutr., October 1, 2007; 137(10): 2264 - 2269. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]