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Garlic compounds may kill brain cancer cells by Mary Helen Yarborough Public Relations The pungent garlic clove used in cooking also could possess a cure for certain difficult-to-treat brain cancers, according to MUSC researchers.   MUSC received a $1 million grant to study garlic’s effectiveness in treating glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor equivalent to a death sentence within a short period after diagnosis. Studies have involved brain cancer cells from animal models as researchers try to determine the best pathway to the brain.   Garlic’s cancer-fighting agent is its rich organo-sulfur compound properties. Garlic already had been proven effective in treating colon, stomach and prostate cancers, said Swapan Ray, Ph.D., principal investigator of the MUSC study. Lab tests demonstrated that the compounds inhibit growth of the brain cancer tumor. “It showed dramatic shrinking of the tumor,” Ray said.   Ray, a Neurosciences/Neurology associate professor, is working with fellow department professor Naren Banik, Ph.D., and postdoctoral fellow Arabinda Das, Ph.D. They have studied three pure organo-sulfur compounds (DAS, DADS, and DATS) from garlic and the interaction each had with human glioblastoma cells. All three compounds demonstrated efficacy in eradicating brain cancer cells, but DATS (with three sulfur atoms) proved to be the most effective, lending more support to previous studies of that particular compound. The study will be published in the September issue of Cancer, which is the premier journal of the American Cancer Society.   Cancer cells are known to have an incredibly high metabolism, as they require much energy to divide cells for rapid growth. In this study, it has been shown that garlic compounds produce reactive oxygen species in rapidly growing brain cancer cells, essentially gorging them to death with activation of multiple death cascades.   “This research highlights the great promise of plant-originated com-pounds as natural medicine for controlling the malignant growth of human brain tumor cells,” Ray said. “However, more studies are needed in animal models of brain tumors before application of this therapeutic strategy to brain tumor patients.”   Banik is enthusiastic about this discovery, which actually emerged as a side study from another project.   “Our basic studies will eventually be translated to the clinics for patient care. Although we may have to wait several years before its application to humans, the significance of this discovery is enormous,” Banik said. “The benefits from this research to brain cancer patients will bring great satisfaction to the researchers and clinicians who are now trying to find a successful treatment for this devastating cancer.”   Future research will include animal studies prior to clinical trials, Ray said.   While it is unlikely that eating garlic cloves would have any significant affect on brain cancer, eating garlic has a number of healthful affects, including reduced blood pressure as well as heading off other cancers in the digestive tract.   Because garlic-derived organo-sulfur compounds are small molecules, they may not require complicated methods of vascular delivery for treating brain tumor patients. And by virtue of their natural origin, the garlic compounds are probably better for the human body than synthetic treatment options, Ray said.   Ray has already received two R01 grants (combined funding of approximately $2.5 million), one from the National Cancer Institute and another from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, to support his neuro-oncology research program. He has a productive research team that includes five post-doctoral fellows.   As for those who desire any potential anti-cancer benefits from garlic now, certain rules apply. Ray said people should cut and peel a piece of fresh garlic and let it sit for 15 minutes before eating or cooking it. This amount of time is needed to release an enzyme (allinase) that produces these anti-cancer compounds. Both Ray and Banik caution the public against eating too much garlic, noting that too much of it can cause diarrhea, allergies, internal bleeding, bad breath and body odor.     Friday, Aug. 31, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.