Olive Oil May Help Lower Risk of Breast Cancer
Lee Swanson Research Update
Olive oil is associated with cooking, beauty care regimens and now, breast cancer. According to researchers from the Catalonian Institute of Oncology and the University of Granada, extra-virgin olive oil might help ward off breast cancer.
The data, published in BMC Cancer, indicated that phenolic compounds deter activity of HER2, a gene linked to breast cancer in humans. To study which olive oil elements may cause this reaction, researchers used solid extraction methods followed by separation procedures to inspect the purity and content of the various phytochemicals (i.e. lignans and secoiridoids).
Once isolated, the various olive oil components were tested in vitro for their adverse cancer activity against positive and negative HER2 breast cancers. Both phytochemicals destroyed HER2 breast cancer cells, but they worked in different ways. The research supports previous studies that have found women on the Mediterranean diet (which is rich in olive oil) tend to have less risk of developing breast cancer than women who aren't.
"Such results, together with the fact that humans have consumed secoiridoids and lignans safely for a long time through olive oil consumption, endorse the fact that such phytochemicals could be an excellent and safe basis for the design of new antiHER2 compounds," said the researchers.
BMC Cancer 7:80, 2007
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