Modified Citrus Pectin: A Powerful Weapon Against Prostate Cancer





If you weren’t a fan of citrus fruits before, here’s a reason why you should start taking citrus fruits. In a study at Columbia University, researchers analyzed the positive effect of Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) on animals (mice) and human prostate cancer cell lines.

Lead researcher, Dr. Aaron Katz published the results in the Journal of Integrative Cancer Therapies. The result showed that MCP induces apoptosis (programmed cell death) in both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent cancer cells and inhibits proliferation in a time and dose-dependent manner.

Numerous studies have shown that MCP has the ability to block Gal-3 (galectin -3) a naturally occurring molecule. In large quantity, this particular molecule could increase your risk for a serious health condition such as prostate cancer and heart diseases.

Our bodies usually have some amount of Gal-3 even when we’re healthy. In small quantities, Gal-3 performs several beneficial roles. It affects how your immune system reacts to threat to your health and aids your immune system in suppressing disease-causing pathogens.

Although it may provide some benefits to your immune systems, several studies have agreed that Gal-3 plays a part in the development and spread of cancerous cells. Gal=3 molecules are usually found in small quantities, but as you age or as a result of chronic illness and injuries, the number may increase. Scientists believe that the concentration of galectin-3 molecules in your bloodstream can be used as an indicator of the presence of cancer cells. It could also be you to test a patient’s potential for developing cancer.

Galectin-3 molecules typically bind themselves to pathogens and act as a PRR (pattern0recognition receptor) as well as a DAMP (danger-associated molecular pattern). In large quantities,however, you can find them on the surface of cancer cells. The Gal-3 molecules serve as an adhesion surface protein allowing the cancer cells to aggregate, form tumors, and metastasize through the body.

The presence of Gal-3 also hinders your body’s ability to fight off the cancer cell. They disrupt the formation of cytokines, a process that is vital in fighting off pathogens and forming a biofilm that any other inflammatory compound and cancerous cells could attach to.

Modified Citrus Pectin is gotten from the piths of citrus fruits. It is then modified to meet certain molecular weight and chain characteristics. Research has shown that MCP interferes with the binding ability of galectin, a cancerous cell surface protein. 

“Considering the low molecular weight of the MCP used in the study,” De Jun Yan, the lead author explained, “we speculate that this new MCP will be more readily absorbed in the human body, which means that the relative concentration reaching the prostate gland will be greater. Therefore, taking this MCP may be an excellent way to prevent prostate cancer, given that prostate cancer is regarded as preventable cancer.

Moreover, this MCP may be an effective adjuvant medicine for cancer therapy.”

The best part of this finding is that there are no significant side effects associated with MCP use unlike conventional treatment methods like radiation therapy.


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