Chapter 12 - Phytonutrients Flashcards
Phytochemicals (aka phytonutrients)
Non-nutrient component of plants with physiological effects on humans
Lower cholesterol
Reduce risk of cancer
Lower blood pressure
Eating fruits and vegetables can
cut your cancer risk in half
cabbage
= no cancer
Protective fruits and vegetables
Lettuce
Leafy greens
Onions
Carrots
Cabbage family
Citrus
Broccoli
Potatoes
Beta-carotene hypothesis
Beta-carotene protects against cancer without conversion to retinol
Anti-oxidant hypothesis
suggests that anti-oxidant compounds protect the body from oxidative damage that could lead to cancer
Examples of anti-oxidants
Vitamins C & E
Sources of beta-carotene
Yellow and orange fruits and vegetables
Tomatoes get their color from
lycopene
Sources of lutein
Dark leafy greens are rich in a carotenoid called lutein
Where are lutein and lycopene found?
How many carotenoids in nautre?
500 carotenoids in nature
Chemoprevention
Prevention of cancer by use of phytochemicals
Diet rich in tomatoes
Lowers risk of prostate cancer
Carcinogenesis
The process of the development of cancer
Carcinogens
Chemicals that damage DNA and lead to the development of cancer
lung cancer -
asbestos workers
Liver cancer -
vinyl chloride
Nitrates - nitrosamines
Can contribute to cancer risk
Spoiled foods leads to…
stomach cancer
aflotoxins
example of molds toxins
leads to liver cancer
Examples of foods that naturally have carcinogens present
Bracken fern and sassafras
Three stages of the development of cancer
- initiation
- promotion
- progression
Apoptosis
The process in a normal cell that seperates it from a cancer cell
Programmed cell death
Initiation
First stage in carcinogenesis, marked by DNA damage, which produces an initiated cell, which is neither normal nor cancerous
Promotion
Second stage in carcinogenesis, marked by more DNA damage, which takes the cell from being an initiated cell to being a cancer cell
Progression
Final stage in carcinogenesis, which produces a tumor
Malignant
Cancerous, as in a tumor
2 characteristics: invasive and metastasize
Metastasize
To spread metastatically
they grow into surrouding tissues, invading them, spreading into nearby organs
Metastasis
The spread of the cancer to distant locations
Phase I enzymes
create or activate procarcinogens into actual carcinogens
Receptors
Site on a cell that binds to a hormone
Lignans
Lower blood levels of estrogen
Indoles
induce higher levels of enzymes that lower amounts of an estrogen precursor
Angiogenesis
the development of blood vessels
blocked by genistein
Ecology
The interaction between individual organisms and between organisms and their environment
