What is Modified Citrus Pectin,MCP,an inhibitor of cancer metastasis and its wide uses?

Modern Research of Modified citrus pectin (MCP).:

Modified Citrus Pectin MCP photo picture image Research Summary:There was the suggestion in one in vitro study of modified citrus pectin that it might have some ability to inhibit melanoma metastasis. Stronger, but still preliminary evidence emerged from a rat study that modified citrus pectin might similarly inhibit the spread of prostate cancer. The lungs of rats treated with this substance had significantly fewer metastatic colonies than controls. There was no effect on the primary tumor. Follow-up is needed.

Modified citrus pectin (MCP) is a unique dietary fiber that is produced by processing natural citrus pectin by altering its pH and splitting the carbohydrate chains to form a low molecular-weight, water-soluble fiber that is rich in the sugar, galactose. It is this presence of particularly high amounts of galactose that led researchers to wonder if MCP might bind with proteins (lectins) on cancer cells to inhibit their ability to bind with other tissues.

Early test tube studies revealed that MCP did indeed bind to galectins from numerous human cancer cell lines to inhibit their ability to adhere to other cells. Researchers found that as little as a 1.0 percent solution of MCP inhibited attachment of 1) human prostate adenocarcinoma cells, 2) human breast carcinoma cells, 3) human melanoma cells, and 4) human laryngeal epidermoid carcinoma cells to human endothelial cells. (Naik H, et al.)

In 1992, Platt and colleagues demonstrated that MCP was effective at reducing metastases in mice injected with live melanoma cells. One group of mice was injected with normal melanoma cells, while a second group received melanoma cells that had been incubated in a solution containing MCP. Seventeen days after being injected, the mice receiving untreated melanoma cells were found to have, on average, 33 new tumors (metastases) in their lungs, while the mice receiving the MCP-treated cells had virtually no lung tumors. The researchers hypothesized that MCP had successfully attached to the lectin sites on the cancer cells, blocking the receptors and rendering them incapable of attaching to other cells.

In a second study conducted in 1995, Pienta and colleagues demonstrated that adding MCP to drinking water was an effective delivery route for reducing experimental metastases in rats. Four days after injecting rats with live prostate cancer cells, the animals were divided into three groups. Two groups of rats were treated with MCP added to their drinking water in amounts of 0.1% and 1.0%. The animals in the third group, the control, received no MCP. Thirty days after being injected with one million active prostate cancer cells, 15 out of 16 rats in the control (untreated) group had cancer metastases in their lungs, compared with 7 of 14 rats in the 0.1% group, and 9 of 16 in the 1.0% group. Importantly, the 1.0% group had, on average, only one tumor per animal, versus an average of nine tumors in the lungs of the control group. Commenting on the results of the study the researchers noted that oral intake of modified citrus pectin acts as a "potent inhibitor of spontaneous prostate cancer metastasis".

Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) and Mercury Cleansing Programs:

Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) is a dietary supplement derived from the peel and pulp of citrus fruit. MCP is mostly known for its positive effects on cellular health. Recently, however, clinical research on MCP has produced exciting results for its use as a gentle chelator (eliminator) of mercury and other heavy metals. Some of the expanding clinical applications for MCP include:
* Detoxification; reduction of heavy metal body burden
* Supports normal cholesterol levels
* Immunomodulation enhancement

The Problem with Mercury:

Recent news on mercury is particularly concerning for the U.S. population. In March 2004 the EPA issued a press release reporting nearly all fish contained traces of mercury. Some samples contained levels high enough to harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. These findings prompted the EPA to issue a warning to women who may become pregnant, pregnant women and nursing mothers advising them to eat only two meals of fish per week that are thought to have lower levels of mercury.1 In their most recent update (August 2004), the EPA issued a warning that 1/3 of the nation's lakes and 1/4 of its river ways are contaminated with toxic levels of mercury and other contaminants, and warned pregnant women and children against consumption of fish from these sources. Additionally, a National Academy of Sciences panel definitively warned that some children who had been exposed to mercury while in the wombs of their mothers were at risk for becoming those children "who have to struggle to keep up in school and who might require remedial classes of special education."

The risk of mercury toxicity from fish has reached epidemic levels. Two studies have further spurred on the concerns of mercury toxicity, as they both found women to have mercury levels that are 8-10% above what is considered safe.1,2 Furthermore, women who ate more fish were found to have higher levels of mercury. Another source of mercury toxicity may be amalgam dental fillings.

Heavy metals, in conjunction with the abundant presence of environmental toxins and xenoestrogens, constitute a dangerous insult to the body through DNA damage, hormonal modulation, immune suppression, oxidative stress, and cellular irritation.

A New Application for MCP Use: Heavy Metal Detoxification:

The standard western medical approach for removing mercury from the body to treat mercury toxicity is chelation. This procedure is performed with harsh chelators that can cause multiple side effects while potentially robbing the body of some of its essential nutrients. While this may be the routine and most beneficial procedure when facing a serious toxicity problem, are there other, gentler ways to reduce mercury levels?

Two recent clinical studies have found that MCP may be a promising new dietary solution for reducing heavy metal load. In one recent clinical study, MCP was administered to a group of volunteers, and baseline levels of their total body mercury burden were measured and then compared against levels after treatment with MCP (15 grams of PectaSol? daily) for four months. The results showed a significant average decrease (over 60%; p=0.03) in the total body mercury burden after treatment with MCP3 In an earlier study, PectaSol? was given to patients and proven to increase urinary secretion of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic.4 Both studies concluded that MCP may be a promising alternative to the harsher intravenous chelating therapies as MCP was found to be both effective and free of any side effects.

Reference:

1.What is Modified Citrus Pectin,MCP,an inhibitor of cancer metastasis and its wide uses?

This article written and edited via herbalist of MDidea Extracts Professional. They run a range of online descriptions about this herb,including general information related and summarized updating discoveries from findings of professional scientisits this field related.Describe style aimed to form a useful detecting literature space where the intertwined threshold and related questions raise out and visualize themselves.

♣ last edit date:20th,Oct.2010.