PeopleBeatingCancer supports an evidence-based integrative approach to cancer care. For most newly diagnosed patients, FDA-approved therapies form the foundation of treatment, while evidence-based complementary therapies may help reduce side effects and improve survivorship.
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Curcumin for Brain Cancer: Can Aronia Enhance Its Anti-Cancer Effects?When diagnosed with brain cancer, the sad fact of the matter is that conventional (FDA-approved) oncology can offer few effective therapies that don’t produce short partial remissions and serious side effects.
Can curcumin help brain cancer?
Laboratory and animal studies suggest curcumin may inhibit glioblastoma growth by reducing inflammation, inducing apoptosis, suppressing angiogenesis, and improving sensitivity to conventional therapies. Early research also suggests that aronia berry polyphenols may enhance these effects, although human clinical trials are still lacking. Curcumin and aronia should be considered complementary—not replacements for standard brain cancer treatment.
According to the article linked and excerpted below, Aronia and Curcumin kill brain cancer cells. For the record, I’m not talking about curing brain cancer. I’m talking about evidence-based, non-toxic therapy that can support other therapies used by the brain cancer patient.
What is Aronia?
black chokeberry- Aronia berries, also known as chokeberries, are small, dark berries native to North America. Widely celebrated as a “superfood,” they are packed with dietary fiber, vitamin C, and some of the highest antioxidant levels of any temperate fruit. [1, 2, 3]
anthocyanins-Their deep color comes from high concentrations of anthocyanins and polyphenols. Research suggests these compounds may help reduce cellular damage, fight inflammation, and support heart and blood sugar health.[1, 2, 3, 4]
antioxidant activity- they’re an excellent source of beneficial antioxidants, which help protect your cells from potentially harmful molecules called free radicals. Aronia berries are particularly high in anthocyanins, which give the berries their dark blue to black color (5Trusted Source).
anti-inflammatory compounds- Aronia berries are nutrient-dense with minimal calories. They’re a great source of fiber, vitamin C, manganese, and antioxidants.
Why Curcumin Has Been Studied in Glioblastoma
NF-kB
STAT3
angiogenesis
apoptosis
blood-brain barrier challenges
bioavailability
Laboratory Evidence
Cell culture- “The study, which was published in the journal Oncology Reports, evaluated the effects of both Aronia and curcumin on a specific glioblastoma line of brain cancer cells known as U373..
Human Evidence- No randomized clinical trials currently demonstrate that aronia plus curcumin improves survival in glioblastoma patients.
If you have been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a deadly form or brain cancer, please consider following an “integrative” path to manage your cancer, meaning combining both conventional/traditional therapies with non-conventional therapies such as Aronia and Curcumin .
I have been taking Curcumin for years and believe it has helped me stay in complete remission since ’99. No, I don’t believe that integrative therapies such as Aronia and Curcumin can permanently cure aggressive cancers such as multiple myeloma and glioblastoma. Integrative therapies provide valuable therapeutic options beyond what conventional oncology can offer.
“Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) has attracted scientific interest due to its deep purple, almost black pigmentation that arises from dense contents of polyphenols, especially anthocyanins… These values are among the highest measured in plants to date…”
For more information about non-conventional brain cancer therapies, scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply ASAP.
“The study, which was published in the journal Oncology Reports, evaluated the effects of both Aronia and curcumin on a specific glioblastoma line of brain cancer cells known as U373…It turns out that Aronia berry, which is rich in anthocyanin flavonoids and other antioxidants and nutrients, is necrotic to the U373 cancer cell line, which means it actually kills cancer cells. And turmeric, which is abundant in the anticancer polyphenol curcumin, effectively induces apoptosis in U373, meaning that it stops this deadly cell line from producing new cells and spreading. When used together, both Aronia and turmeric appear to elicit a one-two punch defense against brain cancer.
According to a 2003 study published in the journal Anticancer Research, curcumin also suppresses the proliferation of many other types of cancer cells besides just brain cancer cells, and effectively blocks cancer tumors from forming, reproducing, and metastasizing (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12680238). The Life Extension Foundation (LEF) recommends the highly-bioavailable BCM-95 variety of curcumin as the most effective form. (http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2007/oct2007_report_curcumin_01.htm)”
The Most BioAvailable Curcumin Brands
“Based on a review of these studies, it is evident that better bioavailability of formulated curcumin (CU) products is mostly attributed to improved solubility, stability, and possibly low first-pass metabolism”
A search of the Pubmed database for the word curcumin yields 601 studies spaning health topics from multiple myeloma and colorectal cancer, to chemotherapies that synergizes with CU, to Alzheimer’s Disease, arthritis and more. Based on years of reading studies and personal accounts, I think it is safe to say that CU supplementation is safe and relatively inexpensive.
I have read about myeloma patients taking daily doses of CU from 400 milligrams to 8 grams (1000 milligrams = 1 gram). By almost any measure, CU is a safe, inexpensive wonder drug.
The only challenge is that CU is famously difficult to absorb in the body. In other words, a person has to mix curcumin with some sort of fat (coconut oil, chocolate, etc.) or take a brand of curcumin capsule that is already formulated to be more “bioavailable” in order to derive the full benefit of CU.
The study linked and exerpted below reviews different formulations of CU. The study itself lists the three most bioavailable formulation/brand of CU and I’ve added an excerpt from a further review from Consumerlab.com that lists four additional bioavailable brands of CU.
“Curcumin is a widely studied natural compound which has shown tremendous in vitro therapeutic potential. Despite that, the clinical efficacy of the native CU is weak due to its low bioavailability and high metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract. During the last decade, researchers have come up with different formulations with a focus on improving the bioavailability of curcumin. As a result, a significant number of bioavailable curcumin-based formulations were introduced with the varying range of enhanced bioavailability.
The purpose of this review is to collate the published clinical studies of CU products with improved bioavailability over conventional (unformulated) CU. Based on the literature search, 11 curcumin formulations with available human bioavailability and pharmacokinetics data were included in this review. Further, the data on clinical study design, analytical method, pharmacokinetic parameters and other relevant details of each formulation were extracted.
Based on a review of these studies, it is evident that better bioavailability of formulated curcumin products is mostly attributed to improved solubility, stability, and possibly low first-pass metabolism. The review hopes to provide a quick reference guide for anyone looking information on these bioavailable curcumin formulations.
exhibited over 100-fold higher bioavailability relative to reference unformulated CU. Suggested mechanisms accounting for improved bioavailability of the formulations and details on the bioanalysis methods are also discussed.”
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kill brain cancer cells. For the record, I’m not talking about curing brain cancer. I’m talking about evidence-based, non-toxic therapy that can support other therapies used by the brain cancer patient.
