Dr Mridula Chopra and colleagues at the University of Portsmouth tested the effect of the nutrient lycopene on the simple mechanism through which cancer cells hijack a body’s healthy blood supply to grow and spread.

They found that lycopene, which is what gives tomatoes their red colour, intercepts cancer’s ability to make the connections it needs to attach to a healthy blood supply.

The researchers, from the university’s School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, are now calling for tests to check if the same reaction occurs in the human body.

Director of the research Dr Chopra said: ”This simple chemical reaction was shown to occur at lycopene concentrations that can easily be achieved by eating processed tomatoes.”

Tamil’s three course meals contain rice with Sambar, Tomato Rasam and Curd/Yogurt. All the hotels serve the same until today. In traditional weddings these are must items. But tomatoes are not Indian vegetables. They came from South American Aztecs through the Spaniards. British brought them to India 300 years ago.

Copper kills cancer cells

( On 27^th May 2012 ,I posted an article “Hindu Wisdom: Copper kills Bacteria” in this blog. Now we have one more news item in support of this view. Hindusare allowed to use only copper vessels in religious ceremonies. Iron or stainless steel is not allowed. Bronze and brass slowly replaced the copper in homes. But in temples still copper is used).

(News in London News Papers)

A drug used to treat alcohol addiction could help destroy deadly brain tumours, research has shown.

For more than 60 years, disulfiram has been used as part of therapy to wean people off alcohol. It makes the body acutely sensitive to alcohol, producing an unpleasant reaction.

Now scientists believe the drug could offer new hope to patients with glioblastoma, the most common and deadly form of brain cancer.

Unlike most drugs, disulfiram is able to penetrate the “blood-brain barrier” – a physical and molecular wall that keeps toxic substances out of the brain. It is used with copper gluconate.

Study leader Dr Weiguang Wang, from the University of Wolverhampton, said: “We’ve been studying the cancer-fighting properties of disulfiram for over a decade, so it’s very exciting to have reached a stage where clinical trials may be possible.

“The idea of using copper to tackle cancer was first suggested by UK scientists in the 1920s, but this is the first time that scientists have found a way of successfully transporting excess copper into cancer cells and shown how this can be combined with conventional chemotherapy treatment to help kill glioblastoma cells. We’re now working on the best way to deliver dilsulfiram and hope to begin clinical trials in cancer patients as soon as funding can be secured.”

The research is published in the British Journal of Cancer.