Liputan6.com, Jakarta: A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton, England revealed that the components in the water lettuce has the ability to suppress breast cancer cell growth by turning off the signals in the body and thus a growing tumors did not receive blood and oxygen intake.
The study was disclosed in a press conference Tuesday (14 / 9), indicating that the compound contained in a watercress-fighting protein that plays an important role in cancer development.
When the tumor will grow quickly overcome the existing blood supply so they are sending signals that can make the surrounding normal tissue to grow new blood vessels into tumors which provides oxygen and nutrition. Research led by Professor Graham Packham shows that plant compounds (called phenylethyl isothiocyanate / PEITC), which is found in watercress may hinder this process, to disrupt and shut down the function of a protein called hypoxia inducible factor (HIF).
“This study takes an important step toward understanding the potential health benefits of this plant because it shows that eating watercress may interfere with the path which has been closely associated with cancer development,” Professor Packham, molecular oncology at the University of Southampton, as quoted by Science Daily.
Working with Barbara Parry, Senior Research Dietician in Winchester and Andover Breast Unit, Professor Packham show initial research on a small group of people who had recovered from cancer, underwent fasting before consuming 80 grams of watercress and then provide a blood sample taken during the next 24 hours.
The research team is able to detect the level of PEITC plant compounds in the blood of the participants during the taking of watercress, and most importantly, it can indicate that HIF protein function was also markedly affected eye in a woman’s blood cells. Two of the study, which was published in the “British Journal of Nutrition and Biochemical Pharmacology”, giving new insights in anti-cancer effect of watercress, although it still needs to do more work to examine the direct effects of water lettuce in reducing cancer risk.
