UNITED KINGDOM—Rice, berries and red wine may become new preventive medicines to help prevent cancer and other diseases, according to research funded by Cancer Research UK. Researchers said the compounds found in these foods may be available in pill form by 2010.
“These agents have proved highly effective in the lab and it is extraordinary," said Will Steward, a cancer and molecular medicine expert involved in the research..
Many of the molecules scientists are getting excited about are plant pigments. In nature, these act to neutralize damaging molecules created by ultraviolet light. In the body, they stabilize damaging molecules on everything from cell membranes to the gut lining and blood vessels. By preventing damage, they help to prevent inflammation, cancerous changes and other aging effects.
Other plant molecules with anti-viral and anti-bacterial effects exist to protect the plant from pathogens, but have the same effect in the human body. Drugs companies are looking for the most powerful plant molecules to use alone or in combination with existing drugs. The only downside is that drug companies don't always look to see how plants were used traditionally, the study said.
A single plant molecule can have an array of health-promoting effects, Curcumin, obtained from the spice turmeric, not only protects against cancer but is an anti-inflammatory that may combat Alzheimer's.
Researchers cited broccoli, brussels sprouts, eggs, spinach, brown rice, turmeric, red wine, tomatoes and chili as today’s foods that will be tomorrow's drugs.