Put some more watercress on your plate!

Put some more watercress on your plate! 
written by Rachel Bartholomew Dip ION MBANT

 

A new study, published recently in the British Journal of Nutrition has found that a compound in watercress may help to suppress the development of breast cancer.

 

In the study, researchers, led by Graham Packham from the University of Southampton investigated the effects of watercress on different known cancer mechanisms.

 

Watercress is a rich source of phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a compound which is believed to block the development of blood vessels to cancer cells, an essential process in tumour development.  Other vegetables, which are a rich source of this compound include broccoli and cabbage.

 

Scientists have also seen PEITC induce cell death in some cancer cells, even those which are resistant to chemotherapy drugs.

 

In the study, researchers observed that watercress extracts inhibited cancer cell growth and that blood plasma levels of PEITC were raised following the ingestion of watercress.

 

Lead researcher, Graham Packham from the University of Southampton commented, “The research takes an important step towards understanding the potential health benefits of this crop, since it shows that eating watercress may interfere with a pathway that has already been tightly linked to cancer development”.

 

He added, “Although further investigations…are required to confirm these findings, this pilot study suggests that….dietary intake of watercress may be sufficient to modulate this potential anti-cancer pathway”.

 

Source:
British Journal of Nutrition
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1017/S0007114510002217
Packham, Cavell et al.  In vivo modulation of 4E binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) phosphorylation by watercress: a pilot study