TUESDAY, Oct. 28, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Ginger prevents the growth of human colorectal cancer cells in mice, new research has found.
But don't count on your spice rack to prevent cancer just yet because an American Cancer Society spokesman cautions that the research is very preliminary.
"Ginger has been used since antiquity for home remedies," says the lead researcher, Ann Bode, assistant director of the University of Minnesota's Hormel Institute. It has been used as a digestive aid and for seasickness and motion sickness, she adds, "but it's never really been tested for its effect on colon cancer."
Bode and her colleagues fed 20 mice a half milligram of [6]-gingerol, the main component in ginger, three times a week, then injected human colorectal tumor cells into the mice. Control mice were treated the same but their food had no gingerol.
Fifteen days after the cells were injected, the first tumors showed up. Thirteen tumors of a size that could be measured were found in the control mice, but only four were found in the gingerol-treated mice. Those who ate the gingerol feed had fewer measurable tumors and smaller tumors.
By the 28th day after injection, all mice in the control group had tumors of measurable size, but it took the gingerol-treated group until the 38th day to have tumors of measurable size, and even then one mouse had no measurable tumors.
Bode discussed her findings at a teleconference Tuesday from the American Association for Cancer Research's annual conference in Phoenix.
"The ginger component we used is a principal component of ginger root," Bode says. Depending on how the spice is processed, the amount of gingerol in ginger root varies, she adds, noting, "We really don't know how much ginger root you would have to eat to get the same effect."
Among people who eat a lot of ginger, she says, she has heard of no reported toxicity.
About 147,000 new cases of colon or rectal cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year, according to the American Cancer Society, with more than 57,000 deaths.
Exactly how the ginger might slow tumor growth isn't known, Bode says. "It may directly act on the cancer cells by inducing cell death," she says.
But Dr. Herman Kattlove, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society, doesn't think much should be made of the finding just yet. "Compounds are discovered almost daily that will do this [in the lab]," he says. "Very few make it past that point."
So it appears to be too soon to up your intake of such ginger-containing foods as ginger ale, ginger between sushi servings, or ginger snaps and expect colorectal cancer protection.
"We probably already have 20 or 30 drugs that will work better than this," says Kattlove, adding, "Mice are very easy to treat."
Still, he says, "it's nice to see people are looking for new [cancer-fighting compounds.] It may turn out to be useful."
Even if it does, however, Kattlove says human applications are probably at least a decade away.
On its Web site, the American Cancer Society urges people with cancer to consult their physician before taking ginger (sometimes recommended to reduce the nausea that can accompany chemotherapy drugs) because it has the potential to interfere with blood clotting and prolong bleeding time.
More information
For information on ginger, visit the American Cancer Society, which also has a page on colorectal cancer.
