Reply To This Post         Return to Posts Index           VegSource Home

From:	ric (24.144.183.99)
Subject:	cyanide & plants/flax; anti-tumour effects
Date:	January 25, 2012 at 7:41 pm PST

In Reply to: Re: Come on, have anybody heard about chaya? posted by Pablo on January 25, 2012 at 5:28 pm:

To all,

I just ate 5 tablespoons of flax seed and lived to post this reply.

Cyanogenic glycosides are a group of natural substances found in plants that release cyanide, a poisonous compound, when degraded by enzymes or organic acids. Thousands of plants produce cyanogenic compounds, including most agronomically important crops such as corn, paddy rice, barley, wheat, rye, sugar cane, mango, cassava, lima beans, bamboo shoots, sorghum, flax, apples and stone fruits like peaches, plums, cherries and apricots.

Another source of dietary cyanide includes thiocyanates, which are found naturally in green vegetables. Thiocyanate is a breakdown product of the cyanogenic glycosides and of glucosinolates found in millet and in cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, mustard, turnip, radish, and horseradish.

In healthy people who eat varied diets, the body can eliminate the potentially harmful compounds found in plants. Indeed, the body has several
methods of metabolizing the cyanogenic glycosides to thiocyanate.

New research suggests that some cyanogenic glycosides have anti-tumour effects. In a model of mouse skin cancer, six common cyanogenic glycosides decreased the number of mice with tumours by 13-33% and had a potency comparable to that seen with the anticancer phenolic compound found in green tea.

ric

adapted from:
www.flaxcouncil.ca/english/pdf/FlxPrmr_4ed_Chpt8.pdf

Reply To This Post         Return to Posts Index           VegSource Home