Resveratrol

In addition to resveratrol’s activities in affecting biotransformation enzymes, preserving normal cell cycle regulation, and inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis of cancer cells, resveratrol also acts to treat cancer in its progression stage. Cancer cells attack normal tissue with the help of enzymes known as matrix metalloproteinase. South Korean researchers found in 2004 that resveratrol inhibits the activity of at least one type of matrix metalloproteinase, thereby controlling growth and invasiveness of tumors. Furthermore, resveratrol was found to induce human promyelocytic leukemia cell differentiation and inhibit ribonucleotide reductase, an enzyme used for DNA synthesis in proliferating cells. Resveratrol also inhibits angiogenesis, a process which involves the growth of new blood vessels. Invasive tumors fuel their rapid growth through angiogenesis. Other studies have shown that resveratrol blocks the ability of cancer cells to metastasize to the bone by as much as 71%. The highest results were for pancreas, breast, and renal cancer.

Lastly, resveratrol acts biologically to decrease tumor promotion through its anti-inflammatory effects. Inflammation promotes the proliferation of cells and angiogenesis and inhibits the mechanism of apoptosis. Resveratrol inhibits the activity of several inflammatory enzymes in vitro, including lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1), an enzyme that converts arachidonic acid to pro-inflammatory substances that encourage growth of tumor cells. Resveratrol may also inhibit pro-inflammatory transcription factors such as NFκB or AP-1.

In the continuing search for viable treatments of cancer, researchers are now starting to investigate the ability of resveratrol supplements to augment other chemotherapies. Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have found that resveratrol increases the effects of vitamin D, which may convert to a steroid that inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells. Other research has indicated that resveratrol causes drug-resistant non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer cells to become susceptible to chemotherapeutic drugs including Gemcetabine, Navelbine, Cisplatinum, Paclitaxel, and TRIAL. Dr. Paul Okunieff, chief of radiation oncology at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester, studied resveratrol’s impact on pancreatic cancer cells. He reported that resveratrol seems to make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation and make normal tissue less sensitive. He added that although red wine consumption during chemotherapy or radiation treatment has not been well studied, it is not contraindicated. Furthermore, researchers from the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit presented findings at the American Association for Cancer Research in 2008, showing that adding resveratrol or curcumin (found in turmeric spice) to conventional chemotherapy could be effective in preventing the growth of chemo-resistant colon cancer cells.