By Dawn Marie Woodward
A chief ingredient in beer shows potent promise in preventing prostate cancer and prostate enlargement, according to a new study by Oregon State University researchers.
The research, published in a recent issue of Cancer Letters, shows that xanthohumol, a compound found in hops, inhibits NF-kappaB protein in cells along the surface of the prostate gland, said Emily Ho, assistant professor of nutrition and exercise sciences in OSU's College of Health and Human Sciences and a researcher with OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute.
The protein acts like a signal switch that turns on a variety of animal and human malignancies, including prostate cancer. “We've shown that the addition of xanthohumol in a cell culture blocks the signal of NF-KappaB protein and works to slow down the growth of benign prostatic hyperplasia and malignant prostate cancer cells,” Ho said.
