Subject: Richters HerbLetter 95/03/21

From: conrad (Conrad Richter)
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 95 13:00:11 EST

-----------------------   Richters Herbletter   ------------------------
   Published by:     Richters, Canada's Herb Specialists
                     Goodwood, Ontario L0C 1A0, Canada
   Editor:           Conrad Richter <[email-masked]>
   
                     *** Trial issue: feedback welcome ***
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Issue ID: 95/03/21 17:30 GMT             

Content
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1. Flaxseed Seen as Cancer Fighter; Grain Has Compound That Seems to 
   Slow Breast Tumour Growth in Rats
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By Paul Taylor
   TORONTO, March 21, (Toronto) Globe and Mail -- The war against cancer 
appears to start at the breakfast table. 
   Scientists at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer 
Research yesterday presented evidence suggesting that a compound found in 
flaxseed may either retard or slow the growth of cancerous tumours.  
Flaxseed, also called linseed, is present in milled form in some breakfast
cereals. 
   In studies conducted on rats, Lilian Thompson of the University of 
Toronto has demonstrated that lignin, a compound found in flaxseed and some 
fruits and vegetables, can reduce the growth of breast-cancer tumours by 
more than 50 per cent...
   Dr. Thompson and her research team screened 66 different plant foods for
lignin, or lignin-like compounds that the body can convert into usable lignin.
Plaxseed was found to be the richest source.  "It contains 800 times more 
than any other plant food in the diet," she said. 
   To determine the potential effects of the compound, both flaxseed and pure
lignin were fed to groups of rats that had been injected with cancer-causing 
agents.  In the rats that received either the flaxseed or the lignin, 
mammary tumours grew at half the rate of the tumours in the animals that did 
not get the supplements.  What's more, fewer new tumours were observed in the 
group that received flaxseed or lignin. 
   Despite the positive results, Dr. Thompson was quick to caution that the 
study has been done only on lab animals. 
   And her research team does not yet know how lignin might slow tumour 
growth.  She speculated that part of lignin's potential potency may lie in 
its ability to interfere with the activities of estrogen, a natural hormone 
that is required for the emergence of breast tumours...
   "You don't have to eat much to increase lignin production... because the 
amount present in flaxseed is so high," Dr. Thompson said.  In fact, she 
warned that eating too much flaxseed might not be such a pleasant experience;
like other high-fibre foods, it can cause bloating and gas...

   [Flax is a remarkably versatile plant: besides its use as a grain 
   in baked goods and breakfast cereals, it is the source of fibres for 
   linen cloth and the source of linseed oil.  Linseed meal is still 
   used as a poultice to "draw out" poisons from wounds.  There is 
   also a oil-seed variety that has high levels of omega-3 linolenic 
   acid, a fatty acid essential for human metabolism.  Besides the 
   oil and fibre flax (Linum usitatissimum), there are several ornamental 
   flax species for the perennial flower garden. -CR]

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   Richters Herb Catalogue: 100 pages, colour, over 730 herb plants, 
   seeds, and dried herbs.  Five types of flax are listed including 
   fibre and oil varieties.  The catalogue is available for $2 ($4 
   outside N America).  Order by email at [email-masked].  
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