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| might be used to treat that particular cancer. Quercetin enhances the cytotoxic effects of many chemotherapeutic drugs, including Adriamycin and Cytoxan. It also potentiates the cytotoxicity of Adriamycin against Adriamycin-resistant human breast cancer cells. 102-105 |
| Quercetin binds to type II estrogen-binding sites more effectively than the antiestrogen drug tamoxifen, which is used so often to treat and inhibit the recurrence of estrogen-positive breast cancer. Type II estrogen-binding sites differ from true estrogen-binding sites because their actual purpose is to bind an endogenous isoflavonoid, or ligand, that has growth-inhibitory rather than estrogen-binding activity. By securing these binding sites with weak plant estrogens, the true estrogens have nowhere to bind, which stops the promotion of cancer growth. Type II estrogen-binding sites are present in a variety of human cancers, including breast cancer and melanoma.106 |
| Another mechanism by which quercetin shows its antitumor effects is by inhibiting the expression of certain gene mutations. Quercetin inhibits the mutation of the tumor-suppressor protein gene p53. The mutation, or defect, of this suppressor is involved in more than half of all cancer-cell lines including breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.107 |
| There is no supplement that I recommend more often than quercetin. There are claims that quercetin is poorly absorbed, but based on my years of clinical experience with this supplement, I choose to disagree. Taking quercetin with bromelain on an empty stomach thirty minutes before a meal results in a very high degree of bioavailability. I usually recommend between 1 and 3 grams per day in divided doses taken with vitamin C and bromelain. |
| Other Flavonoids |
| Apigenin is a nontoxic, nonmutagenic flavonoid found in certain vegetables. It has a significant potential for being a cancer-preventive agent. In one study it produced a 43 to 62 percent inhibition of mutagenicity and a 67 to 80 percent reduction of tumor-promotion activity. Apigenin also has a chemoprotective effect and has been shogun to be as effective as cromoglycate in inhibiting basophil histamine release. The flavonoids luteolin and amento-flavone exhibit an even higher inhibitory effect. Chamomile is a rich source of apigenin.108 |
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