Saturday, November 3, 2012

Common food preservative, Nisin may slow, even stop tumor growth

We know that, Nisin is a polycyclic antibacterial peptide with 34 amino acid residues used as a food preservative. It contains the uncommon amino acids lanthionine (Lan), methyllanthionine (MeLan), didehydroalanine (Dha) and didehydroaminobutyric acid (Dhb). These unusual amino acids are introduced by posttranslational modification of the precursor peptide. In these reactions a ribosomally synthesized 57-mer is converted to the final peptide. The unsaturated amino acids originate from serine and threonine, and the enzyme-catalysed addition of cysteine residues to the didehydro amino acids result in the multiple (5) thioether bridges. Subtilin and Epidermin are related to Nisin. All are members of a class of molecules known as lantibiotics.

Nisin is produced by fermentation using the bacterium Lactococcus lactis. Commercially, it is obtained from the culturing ofLactoccus lactis on natural substrates, such as milk or dextrose, and is not chemically synthesized.


The study is the first to show CHAC1's new role in promoting cancer cell death under nisin treatment. The findings also suggest that nisin may work by creating pores in the cancer cell membranes that allow an influx of calcium. It's unclear what role calcium plays in nisin-triggered cell death, but it's well known that calcium is a key regulator in cell death and survival.



Ref : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cam4.35/abstract;jsessionid=288DD01F2898095E16F5EEAFEF5274FD.d02t03

Common food preservative may slow, even stop tumor growth

1 comment:

Unknown said...

So, for those who have the cancer now, as it is an aggressive cancer type, they would want to get started with Nisin now, instead of waiting for the next stage of trials. What happens then? We have a family member who has this cancer, and they have little hope otherwise. We would love to know more about where Nisin is found, as it is indeed safe, and how much could a human safely consume? Please let us know your thoughts on this. We are desperate. This is a horrible cancer which causes a very painful demise.