Health Benefits of Berries: Other Related Articles

Plants are proven sources of useful anti-tumour and chemopreventative compounds. Hence, identification of phytochemicals useful in dietary prevention and intervention of cancer is of paramount importance. The initial step in the formation of cancer is damage to the genome of a somatic cell producing a mutation in an oncogene or a tumour-suppressor gene. In this study, fresh juices and organic solvent extracts from strawberries, blueberries and raspberries were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the production of mutations by the direct-acting mutagen methyl methanesulfonate and the metabolically activated carcinogen benzo[alpha]pyrene. Juice from strawberries, blueberries and raspberries significantly inhibited mutagenesis caused by both carcinogens. Ethanol extracts from freeze-dried fruits of strawberry cultivars (Sweet Charlie and Carlsbad) and blueberry cultivars (Tifblue and Premier) were also tested. Of these, the hydrolyzable tannin-containing fraction from Sweet Charlie strawberries was most effective at inhibiting mutations.

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables have been of interest because of their potential health benefits against chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer. The aim of this work was to assess the association of the dietary intake of a food group that includes fruits, berries and vegetables with all-cause, CVD-related and non-CVD-related mortality. The subjects were Finnish men aged 42–60 y examined in 1984–1989 in the prospective Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor (KIHD) Study. Dietary intakes were assessed by 4-d food intake record during the baseline phase of the KIHD Study. The risk of all-cause and non-CVD-related deaths was studied in 2641 men and the risk of CVD-related death in 1950 men who had no history of CVD at baseline. During a mean follow-up time of 12.8 y, cardiovascular as well as noncardiovascular and all-cause mortality were lower among men with the highest consumption of fruits, berries and vegetables. After adjustment for the major CVD risk factors, the relative risk for men in the highest fifth of fruit, berry and vegetable intake for all-cause death, CVD-related and non-CVD-related death was 0.66 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.50–0.88], 0.59 (0.33–1.06), and 0.68 (0.46–1.00), respectively, compared with men in the lowest fifth. These data show that a high fruit, berry and vegetable intake is associated with reduced risk of mortality in middle-aged Finnish men. Consequently, the findings of this work indicate that diets that are rich in plant-derived foods can promote longevity.

The cytotoxicity of a commonly used material to alleviate the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), Saw Palmetto Berry Extract (SPBE), was examined as neat oil using a set of prostatic cell lines; 267B-1, BRFF-41T and LNCaP. Proliferation of these prostatic derived cell lines is inhibited to different degrees when dosed for 3 days with SPBE. The amount of SPBE required to inhibit 50% growth (IC₅₀) of these cell lines was 20–30 nl equivalents of SPBE per ml of medium for cell lines 267B-1 and BRFF-41T and approximately 10-fold more for the LNCaP cell line. The effect of SPBE dosing on these cell lines is not irreversible, since a 30 min treatment with SPBE at an IC₅₀concentration does not inhibit their growth. Normal prostate cells were inhibited by 20–25% when grown in the presence of 200 nl SPBE equivalent per ml media. Growth of other non-prostatic cancer cell lines, i.e. Jurkat and HT-29, was affected by approx. 50% and 40%, respectively. When LNCaP cells were grown in the presence of dihydrotestosterone and SPBE, the IC₅₀concentration decreased significantly compared to LNCaP cells grown in the presence of serum and SPBE. Reduced cellular growth after SPBE treatment of these cell lines may relate to decreased expression of Cox-2 and may be due to changes observed in the expression of Bcl-2. Expression of Cox-1 under similar conditions is not affected because of its constitutive expression. Since increased Cox-2 expression is associated with an increased incidence of prostate cancer, and decrease in its expression by SPBE would provide a basis for further investigation of its use against BPH and in prostatic cancer chemoprevention. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.