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1.   BBC NEWS | Health | Grapes 'may prevent cancer scarring'

Grapes could help women to avoid the painful scarring often associated ... Professor John Yarnold and colleagues at the Institute of Cancer ...

SOURCE: Cancer Research UK (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org)

Grapes 'may prevent cancer scarring'

 

Grapes contain powerful antioxidants

Grapes could help women to avoid the painful scarring often associated with breast cancer treatment.

Doctors at The Institute of Cancer Research in London believe the antioxidants in grapes may protect against radiation fibrosis.

This condition affects thousands of women around the world each year. It causes tissue around the breast to become hard and stiff. In some cases, it is painful.

I believe grape seed extract has interesting potential


Professor John Yarnold,
Institute of Cancer Research

This scarring can occur years after the women undergo radiotherapy to treat breast cancer.

In recent years, advances in radiotherapy treatment have meant that the likelihood of women developing radiation fibrosis has fallen.

However, it can still occur and doctors cannot offer women guarantees that they will not have any scarring.

Cell damage

While doctors do not know what causes radiation fibrosis, they suspect it may be caused by the continuous release of free radicals triggered by radiotherapy.

Free radicals spread like a kind of biological rust and can cause havoc in cells, even damaging DNA.

Antioxidants can mop up these potentially damaging molecules.

Professor John Yarnold and colleagues at the Institute of Cancer Research are now looking to see if the antioxidant properties in grapes could have a role to play.

"Grape seeds contain a mixture of compounds called flavanoids, also found in other fruits and vegetables," said Professor Yarnold.

"They have antioxidant properties that may be superior to known antioxidants like vitamin E or C.

"There have already been promising small scale trials with antioxidants, but I believe grape seed extract has interesting potential."

Tissue hardening

The doctors are planning to recruit 72 patients initially. Half will be given tablets containing grape seed extract while the others will receive a dummy pill.

This will enable the researchers to determine if the grape seed extract can protect women from fibrosis.

Professor Yarnold said: "Radiotherapy is followed over the years by tissue hardening and tenderness in the breast and underlying muscles in some women.

"We aim to test if grape seed extract reverses these changes and improves patients' quality of life."

He added: "If successful, we aim to conduct further clinical trials in radiotherapy patients cured of other cancers where fibrosis may cause other serious medical problems."

Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of Cancer Research UK which is funding the study, said: "We hope this trial will eventually lead to a treatment for patients who previously had no respite from the symptoms of radiation fibrosis."

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The Grape Seed – An Overview Print E-mail

A. History 

1535: OPC as remedy for the antioxidant deficiency disease scurvy.

Jacques Cartier, the French explorer, and his team had to spend a winter in Canada. As vitamin-rich food was missing, scurvy soon broke out. Help came from the Indians: with an infusion of bark and needles from the OPC-containing white cedar tree the team could be cured.

 

1947: Prof. Jack Masquelier, Bordeaux, first discovered oligomere proanthocyanadines (OPC), which he first extracted from peanut shells, and later from grape seeds. Today Masquelier is nominated as candidate for the Nobel Prize.

 

 B. Basic Research , Analyses 

Research by Prof. Jack Masquelier have shown that OPC from grape seeds has 18,4 times stronger effect against free radicals than Vitamin C.

Source: Prof. Masquelier 1985  

A Japanese research team found out that OPC had a 50 times stronger anti-oxydative effect than Vitamin E.

Source: Uchida, Edamatsu et al.”Condensed tannins scavenge active oxygen free radicals”. In Med.Sci.Res. (15) (1987),  page 8331f 

No foodstuff contains nearly as a high concentration of OPC as grape seeds, and this includes the cold-pressed grape seed oil, but specifically the grape seed flour: approximately 20 mg/g – a gigantic amount for a natural  product.

Source: Research by Prof. Treutter, Centre of Sciences Weihenstephan, 2000.  

On the occasion of the Second Science Congress, Forum  Grape Seed, in Trittenheim, 2004 Prof. Elstner of the  Centre of Sciences Weihenstephan, examined the anti-oxydative effect of OCP compared to isolated Vitamin E,  apple juice and gallic acid. The result was a scientific sensation: in all test carried out diluted (!) grape seed flour was superior to isolated Vitamin E.

Source: Erich Elstner: Simulated digestion of Vitis Vinafera Seed Powder: Polyphenolic Content  and Antioxidant Properties. In: Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 2006  

 “From the research results submitted at the II Forum Grape Seed it can be concluded that grape seed products are particularly suitable to counteract oxidative stress.”

Source: II. Forum Grape Seed, 16 September 2004 – Communiqué, signed by: Prof. Dr. rer. nat.Erich F. Elstner, Science Centre Weihenstephan (TUM), Freising; Winfrid Heinen, VITIS AG, Trittenheim; Dr. med. Michael Keck, Drei-Burgen-Klinik, Bad Münster am Stein; Prof. Dr. med. Bernd Krönig, Elisabeth-Krankenhaus, Trier; Dr. Bertrand Matthäus, Federal Research Institute for Nutrition and Foodstuffs, Mümster; Prof. Dr. Suhaila Mohamed, University Putra Malaysia, Prof. Dr. Dr. Kurt S. Zänker, University Witten/Herdecke     

C. Nutrition Physiology 

Research carried out by Prof. Masquelier in respect of bioavailability of OPC shows that :

·         OPC has a nearly 100% bioavailability.

·         It is water soluble and can be absorbed into the blood stream within a few minutes through the oral and gastric mucosa and is distributed within a short period of time into the various organs as well as to the entire body tissues, including skin, hair and nails.

·         OPC reaches its maximum concentration in the blood after 45 minutes and is used up completely within 72 hours.

·         It passes the haemato-encephalic- barrier (selection of utilizable substances) and can, therefore, be an effective protection of the brain cells.

·         After 24 hours the resistance of the blood vessels has doubled.

·         Long-term studies have proven that OPC is not toxic, carcinogenic or mutagenic.

Source: Schwitters, B., Masquelier, J: The fundamental tests. In: OPC in Practice. Rome/Italy, page 49 f

 

It follows that the supply with natural OPC via the daily food intake appears to be the best way. Besides, cold-pressed grape seeds can enhance meals with grape seed flour, e.g. grape seed noodles, grape seed bread and grape seed crackers….

 

“Therefore,  supplementing with natural anti-oxydative polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as are present in grape seed oil and/or in the use of natural anti-oxydants (procyanidins) respectively, can be substantiated as additional improvement of  healthy nutrition which can reduce cardiovascular risks in primary and secondary prevention.

Source: Dr. Michael Keck: Grape Seed Products as Add-On- Nutrition for Cardiovascular Patients. Drei-Burgen-Klinik, Bad Münster am Stein. 

D. MEDICINE

 

Study “Grape-Seed Products as Add-on Nutrition for Cardiovascular Patients: with 10 test persons:

Study Group: LDL-Cholesterol   lowered from 125 mg/gl to 93 mg/dl (Control group: 124 mg/dl to 109 mg/dl); HDL-Cholesterol increased from 41 mg/dl to 54 mg/dl (Control group: 42 mg/dl to 45 mg/dl).Source: Dr. Michael Keck: Grape seed products as Add-on-nutrition for cardiovascular patients, Drei-Burgen-Clinic, Bad Münster am Stein  

OPC from Grape Seed improves tolerance to chemotherapy

Source: Dr. med. Arnold Zilly, Heidelberg, 2006  

“According to a minor study extract from grape seeds lowers blood pressure and – in higher dosage – also improves the blood lipids”

Source: Medical Tribune No. 16, 21.04.2006  

OPC “A type of substance, which has lately gained attention due to the health-promoting properties (anti-inflammatory/anti-atherosclerotic, anti-mutagenic, anti-allergic…)

Source: Dr. Herbert Böchzelt, Joanneum Research, Austria Compare also: Shi J., Yu J; Pohorly JE; Kakuda Y: “Polyphenolics in grape seeds-biochemistry and functionality” Journal of medicinal food VOL: 6(4); p. 291-9/2003 Winter 

OPC inhibits growth of breast cancer

Source: Ramljak D  and others: Pentameric procyanidines  from Theobroma cacao selectively inhibits growth of human breast cancer cells”.. Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, USA.  

OPC as protection for the blood supply of myocardium

Source: ZAng, XH and others:  “Protective effect of procyanidins from the seedpod of the lotus on myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury in rat”, University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.  

C is suitable for therapy if venous diseases

Source: Constantini, A. and others: “Clinical and capillaroscopic evaluation of chronic uncomplicated venous insufficiency with procyanidins extracted from vitis vinifera”, Universita degli Studi, Milano, Italy  

Wellness / Skin care  

Grape Seed Oil as Skin Oil: “In all patients the oil was able to alleviate pruritus and to considerably improve scaly and chapped skin. […] Applying the oil on minor lesions also benefited healing.”

Source: Dr. med. Peter Schachinger, Celle: Monitoring the application in 29 patients, 2001

 NATURE AND ENJOYMENT

  

Already in the Middle Ages well-to-do ladies used cold-pressed grape seed oil as cosmetic, as it was known that this oil keeps the skin healthy, vital and subtle, as well as beautiful. Even today pharmacists use cold-pressed grape seed oil as basis for ointments and creams prescribed by dermatologists, and recently cold-pressed grape seed oil has been rediscovered for use in luxury cosmetic.

 Source: VWinfrid Heinen:”Power from the grape seed”. Kilianverlag, 2003  

 
 
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