How Fruit And Vegetable Compounds Help Prevent Colorectal Cancer

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / Online - 01st December, 2019) Flavonoids are compounds that are naturally present in fruit and vegetables. Scientists have known for 20 years that they can help prevent colorectal cancer but have not fully understood the underlying biology.Now, a new study describes a molecular mechanism through which a product of flavonoid digestion can inhibit cancer cell growth under certain conditions.The study is the work of a team at South Dakota State University in Brookings, who report their findings in a recent issue of the journal Cancers.At first, the researchers were investigating how aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) can reduce colorectal cancer risk.In that earlier work, they saw how a salicylic acid derivative called 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid (2,4,6-THBA) was able to slow cancer cell growth.They decided to search for natural sources of 2,4,6-THBA and found that it was also a compound that results from the digestion of flavonoids.Testing 2,4,6-THBA on colon cancer cellsThe new study is the first to investigate how 2,4,6-THBA, as a product of flavonoid breakdown in the gut, can help to prevent cancer of the colon or rectum.