PHYTOCHEMISTRY:
An Economical, Sustainable, and Environmentally Friendly Way to Treat Cancer
Editor's Note: Mitchell B. ('16) details a preferred cancer treatment in this Dupoint Challenge essay.
In a time when Americans were incredibly paranoid, Edward R. Murrow assuaged many Americans’ concerns about the threat of the Soviet Union by revealing Joseph McCarthy’s unsubstantiated accusations about spies in the American public. Murrow is one of the many great Americans whose life has been prematurely taken by lung cancer, a disease caused by smoking cigarettes (Murrow, 2015). Today cancer is treated in a variety of ways including, most popularly, chemotherapy (the killing of all cells in the body). Unfortunately these methods can be harmful and at times ineffective. As the cancer epidemic grows, as does the need for successful ways to treat cancer. Phytochemists, scientists who investigate the active compounds in natural materials that have health effects due to their anti-oxidant constituents, believe that anti-oxidants found in such materials can lead to a sustainable and healthy way to treat epidemics like cancer and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder). Between 40 and 70 percent of cases of COPD turn into lung cancer through the development of tumors caused by the increase in free radicals, so as the threat of COPD is extinguished, many cases of lung cancer will be ridded as well (The Link Between COPD and Lung Cancer). Perhaps phytochemistry can be used as a way to treat COPD in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.
Anti-oxidants are incredibly beneficial to the human body as they are compounds that protect cells from oxidizing or losing electrons. The body can deal with 98-99% of oxidized cells, but the remaining cells that it cannot deal with do not have a purpose and therefore rapidly bond to other cells until they produce a tumor, or cancer. The way anti-oxidants deal with these oxidized cells is they donate a hydrogen ion, or a proton and therefore neutralize that potentially hazardous cell. Different anti-oxidants have different effects in the body, most prominently phenolic compounds, like proanthocyanidins are beneficial to urinary tract health, and flavanols are beneficial to heart health. In a recent study, flavanols were found to decrease phlegm production and help coughs, two of the symptoms of COPD (Benefits of Antioxidants). This led prominent phytochemist, Edward J. Kennelly, to investigate fruits known to have flavanols, one of these fruits is Costa Rican Guava, a fruit used to make jams and known to have anti-oxidant, cardioactive, anti-cough, and anticancer effects among others (Kennelly, 2013). The fruit was partitioned and chemicals with the highest anti-oxidant activity were tested for efficacy against cells treated with cigarette smoke extract, the main cause of COPD (Kennelly, 2013). The results were so striking that future tests will be done on the effective compounds (Kennelly, 2013). Another study led by Kennelly tested the properties of simple blueberries for their anti-oxidant constituents and again incredible results were found (Kennelly, 2012).
Beside its undeniable scientific promise, phytochemistry is a practice that supports practicality and sustainability. A recent study determined that many countries in Asia and Africa that suffer from hunger also suffer from poor mortality rates (Romana, 2014). Phytochemistry provides great access to foods that have health benefits, so people in these countries can both be fed and have greater access to economical treatments. Michael Balick, a prominent ethnobotanist, spends much of his time researching the health effects of common foods in Eastern diets; he is in effect, making the acculturation to the western diet, obsolete. It should be noted that there is some worry in Balick’s field that there will be a dearth of knowledge amongst the shamans that he studies because of lack of interest in traditional healing methods by younger generations. So the clock is ticking (Tabak, 2001).
Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sought to cope with the “significant concerns about the unintended social, environmental, and economic consequences of rapid population growth, economic growth and consumption of our natural resources” (US Environmental Protection Agency). The EPA has looked to the wonders of science to solve these issues, perhaps phytochemistry could serve as an answer. It is only recycling compounds found in common and at times abundant resources in the world and then will seek to replicate them chemically. In summation, phytochemistry could solve a great deal of problems in an economical manner.
A world at war with cancer and hunger needing an economical and practical way to fix both problems can turn to a paradoxical study. One that combines primitive methods and cutting edge science to find an effective way to end each epidemic, no longer would people of affluence have to fear the big C and no longer would people of impoverished areas need to worry about their next meal. Had phytochemistry been a practice used in Murrow’s time, perhaps he would not have died so soon.
Anti-oxidants are incredibly beneficial to the human body as they are compounds that protect cells from oxidizing or losing electrons. The body can deal with 98-99% of oxidized cells, but the remaining cells that it cannot deal with do not have a purpose and therefore rapidly bond to other cells until they produce a tumor, or cancer. The way anti-oxidants deal with these oxidized cells is they donate a hydrogen ion, or a proton and therefore neutralize that potentially hazardous cell. Different anti-oxidants have different effects in the body, most prominently phenolic compounds, like proanthocyanidins are beneficial to urinary tract health, and flavanols are beneficial to heart health. In a recent study, flavanols were found to decrease phlegm production and help coughs, two of the symptoms of COPD (Benefits of Antioxidants). This led prominent phytochemist, Edward J. Kennelly, to investigate fruits known to have flavanols, one of these fruits is Costa Rican Guava, a fruit used to make jams and known to have anti-oxidant, cardioactive, anti-cough, and anticancer effects among others (Kennelly, 2013). The fruit was partitioned and chemicals with the highest anti-oxidant activity were tested for efficacy against cells treated with cigarette smoke extract, the main cause of COPD (Kennelly, 2013). The results were so striking that future tests will be done on the effective compounds (Kennelly, 2013). Another study led by Kennelly tested the properties of simple blueberries for their anti-oxidant constituents and again incredible results were found (Kennelly, 2012).
Beside its undeniable scientific promise, phytochemistry is a practice that supports practicality and sustainability. A recent study determined that many countries in Asia and Africa that suffer from hunger also suffer from poor mortality rates (Romana, 2014). Phytochemistry provides great access to foods that have health benefits, so people in these countries can both be fed and have greater access to economical treatments. Michael Balick, a prominent ethnobotanist, spends much of his time researching the health effects of common foods in Eastern diets; he is in effect, making the acculturation to the western diet, obsolete. It should be noted that there is some worry in Balick’s field that there will be a dearth of knowledge amongst the shamans that he studies because of lack of interest in traditional healing methods by younger generations. So the clock is ticking (Tabak, 2001).
Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sought to cope with the “significant concerns about the unintended social, environmental, and economic consequences of rapid population growth, economic growth and consumption of our natural resources” (US Environmental Protection Agency). The EPA has looked to the wonders of science to solve these issues, perhaps phytochemistry could serve as an answer. It is only recycling compounds found in common and at times abundant resources in the world and then will seek to replicate them chemically. In summation, phytochemistry could solve a great deal of problems in an economical manner.
A world at war with cancer and hunger needing an economical and practical way to fix both problems can turn to a paradoxical study. One that combines primitive methods and cutting edge science to find an effective way to end each epidemic, no longer would people of affluence have to fear the big C and no longer would people of impoverished areas need to worry about their next meal. Had phytochemistry been a practice used in Murrow’s time, perhaps he would not have died so soon.
Balick, M. J. (1999, December 20). Mission in the Rain Forest. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/21/science/l-mission-in-the-rain-forest-992267.html
Bannon, L. (2012, September 14). Learning the Lore of Far-Flung Flora. Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443884104577645933960016016
Benefits of Antioxidants. (2015, January 11). Retrieved from http://www.nutrex-hawaii.com/benefits-of-antioxidants
Cancer Treatment & Survivorship Facts & Figures. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/survivor-facts-figures
Christensen, J. (1999, November 29). A Romance With a Rain Forest and Its Elusive Miracles. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/30/science/scientist-work-mark-j-plotkin-romance-with-rain-forest-its-elusive-miracles.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Dreifus, C. (1999, April 05). New York's a Jungle, and One Scientist Doesn't Mind. Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/06/science/conversation-with-michael-j-balick-new-york-s-jungle-one-scientist-doesn-t-mind.html
Edward R. Murrow. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_R._Murrow
Flores, G., Dastmalchi, K., Dabo, A. J., Whalen, K., Pedraza-Peñalosa, P., Foronjy, R. F., . . . Kennelly, E. J. (2012). Antioxidants of therapeutic relevance in COPD from the neotropical blueberry Anthopterus wardii. Food Chemistry, 131(1), 119-125. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.08.044
Flores, G., Dastmalchi, K., Wu, S., Whalen, K., Dabo, A. J., Reynertson, K. A., . . . Kennelly, E. J. (2013). Phenolic-rich extract from the Costa Rican guava (Psidium friedrichsthalianum) pulp with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Potential for COPD therapy. Food Chemistry, 141(2), 889-895. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.03.025
Hanazaki, N., Herbst, D., Marques, M., & Vandebroek, I. (2013). Evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome in ethnobotanical research. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 9(1), 75. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-9-75
The Link Between COPD and Lung Cancer. (2015, January 15). Retrieved from http://www.everydayhealth.com/copd/the-link-between-copd-and-lung-cancer.aspx
Romana, P. C. (n.d.). Millennium Development Goals: 2014 Progress Chart. Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2014%20MDG%20report/MDG%202014%20Progress%20Chart_English.pdf
Tabak, C., Arts, I. C., Smit, H. A., Heederik, D., & Kromhout, D. (2001). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Intake of Catechins, Flavonols, and Flavones. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 164(1), 61-64. doi:10.1164/ajrccm.164.1.2010025
Types of Treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/treatment/types-of-treatment
US Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/
Bannon, L. (2012, September 14). Learning the Lore of Far-Flung Flora. Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443884104577645933960016016
Benefits of Antioxidants. (2015, January 11). Retrieved from http://www.nutrex-hawaii.com/benefits-of-antioxidants
Cancer Treatment & Survivorship Facts & Figures. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2015, from http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/survivor-facts-figures
Christensen, J. (1999, November 29). A Romance With a Rain Forest and Its Elusive Miracles. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/30/science/scientist-work-mark-j-plotkin-romance-with-rain-forest-its-elusive-miracles.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm
Dreifus, C. (1999, April 05). New York's a Jungle, and One Scientist Doesn't Mind. Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/06/science/conversation-with-michael-j-balick-new-york-s-jungle-one-scientist-doesn-t-mind.html
Edward R. Murrow. (n.d.). Retrieved January 20, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_R._Murrow
Flores, G., Dastmalchi, K., Dabo, A. J., Whalen, K., Pedraza-Peñalosa, P., Foronjy, R. F., . . . Kennelly, E. J. (2012). Antioxidants of therapeutic relevance in COPD from the neotropical blueberry Anthopterus wardii. Food Chemistry, 131(1), 119-125. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.08.044
Flores, G., Dastmalchi, K., Wu, S., Whalen, K., Dabo, A. J., Reynertson, K. A., . . . Kennelly, E. J. (2013). Phenolic-rich extract from the Costa Rican guava (Psidium friedrichsthalianum) pulp with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Potential for COPD therapy. Food Chemistry, 141(2), 889-895. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.03.025
Hanazaki, N., Herbst, D., Marques, M., & Vandebroek, I. (2013). Evidence of the shifting baseline syndrome in ethnobotanical research. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 9(1), 75. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-9-75
The Link Between COPD and Lung Cancer. (2015, January 15). Retrieved from http://www.everydayhealth.com/copd/the-link-between-copd-and-lung-cancer.aspx
Romana, P. C. (n.d.). Millennium Development Goals: 2014 Progress Chart. Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2014%20MDG%20report/MDG%202014%20Progress%20Chart_English.pdf
Tabak, C., Arts, I. C., Smit, H. A., Heederik, D., & Kromhout, D. (2001). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Intake of Catechins, Flavonols, and Flavones. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 164(1), 61-64. doi:10.1164/ajrccm.164.1.2010025
Types of Treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2015, from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/treatment/types-of-treatment
US Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/
