Colon Cancer: Pterostilbene Vs Resveratrol
Pterostilbene is the newcomer on the block, but a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reports that pterostilbene is more effective in protecting against colon cancer than resveratrol. This article reports the research by a Chinese team led by Min-Hsiung Pan with the National Kaohsiung Marine University in Taiwan. This research gives solid support to the chemopreventive potential of dietary management of pterostilbene contrary to colonic tumorigenesis.
Sabinsa Corporation, Taipei Medical University, and Rutgers University worked together in conducting the study which was funded by the Taiwan National Science Council.
In preparing to launch the research, the team investigated the history of resveratrol and found it had gained a tremendous amount of data from many other research groups around the world. Data from this research showed that resveratrol was a powerful polyphenol as well as a strong anti-fungal chemical. Resveratrol was found to be a bioactive chemical originating in grapes and red wine.
David Sinclair, who was from Harvard University, wrote a paper published in Nature. In 2003, that introduced his research and resveratrol. The major point in his research was that resveratrol had successfully increased the life span of yeast cells. The response to Sinclair’s publishing of his paper caused a tremendous excitement in science because he had extended the life span of yeast cells. His publication ignited a furious scientific growth in research to explore what resveratrol could do to solve man’s health problems. The big hope was that resveratrol could become an anti-aging pill.
Research expanded from Sinclair’s yeast cells to include nematode fish, fruit flies, nematode worms and mice which have lived longer than normal. Other published research gave them data showing resveratrol to block cancer, to have anti-inflammatory qualities, beneficial cardiovascular effects, increased energy endurance, improved protection against Alzheimer’s and also anti-diabetic effects.
Unfortunately, science is not always a smooth path to knowledge. Because so much of the scientific breakthroughs had been accomplished by David Sinclair, the major pharmaceutical companies were not ready to do the follow- up research and be successful. GlaxoSmithKline cancelled two trials supposedly using resveratrol. Problem here is that the drug companies cannot use the natural flavonoid, resveratrol, as they cannot patent anything produced naturally. So they had to synthesize the resveratrol and try to reorganize the molecular structure to create a product that would accomplish their goal. Resveratrol has no side effects and GlaxoSmithKline’s trials failed because of side effects, which means they still had a lot of work to do to solve their problems. Pfizer also threw in the towel along with several other major pharmaceuticals and published papers claiming resveratrol could not be used to extend life. Sinclair responded to their giving up by announcing that his team had found a protein that if it had been used in the research done by the drug companies, they would have had different results.
Resveratrol and pterostilbene are chemically related. Research data indicates it has promise for improving cognitive function, cardiovascular health, and glucose levels. The similarity between resveratrol and pterostilbene is important, but pterostilbene has the advantage of metabolizing at a slower rate in the body so the blood can have a higher absorption rate.
In the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the research article on pterostilbene reported on the work done on researching the effect of pterostilbene and the colon. The reported investigation was an animal study using mice to investigate the effects of resveratrol or pterostilbene. Study was designed to expose two groups of mice to the chemical compound azoxymethane. This compound is known to induce a cancerous tumor in the colon. When the research was completed and data was evaluated, it was found that the pterostilbene was more effective and produced more anti-oxidant enzymes.
At the conclusion of the research project the data generated by the investigation was evaluated. This is when the research team realized that resveratrol and pterostilbene both blocked inflammatory cellular inflammation and oxidative strain. When each of the flavonoids was evaluated on their individual levels of performance, pterostilbene was found to be the most potent chemopreventive agent in preventing colon cancer.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a Doctor and do not give medical advice; this is a news report and cannot substitute for the advice of a medical professional.
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