by Gloria S. Akande

Created on: July 25, 2009

Onions not only give you bad breath, but the have properties that help cure cancer. Can an onion a day keep cancer away? Onions are related to garlic and belong to the genus of plants in the Allium group. Plants in this group have been used since the Egyptians to increase physical endurance and strength. These plants have been noted in medicine to kill bacteria, prevent blood clots, decrease lipids, treat arthritis and decrease blood sugar.

Onion, a flavonol, contains the powerful anti-oxidant, quercetin and myricetin. It is speculated that these antioxidants may work by inhibiting the mutation of genes, control enzyme activities, inhibit abnormal DNA formation, destroy free radicals, and effect inhibit cell proliferation and tumor growth and tumor blood vessel growth. Apigenin is a plant flavone also found onions, which has been shown to possess remarkable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties. Apigenin will soon be investigated for its chemopreventive properties. Apigenin was also shown to induce cell death in human breast cancer cells and inhibit tumor cell growth by 30% to 51%. In addition onions contain allyl sulfides that are bioactive and said to inhibit cancer cell growth.

A recent German study has shown in that onions significantly reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer in smokers. Quercetin in a small double blind study of patients with hereditary Polyposis of the colon has been shown to decrease the size and number of colon polyps by 60% with no significant side effects. The amount of quercetin used in this study was the amount, which would be ingested, in the normal diet. In a study of 36 patients who had their colon cancer surgically removed were given 20 mg of Apigenin with another flavonoid showed reduced rate of tumor recurrence.

A large data study has found and inverse relationship between the frequency of use of allium vegetables and the risk of several common cancers, e.g. oral cavity and pharynx, larynx, esophageal, colorectal and breast. The greater the frequency of ingestion of onions is associated with a lower the risk of development these cancers. A Netherlands study has similarly shown a decrease in the amount of stomach cancers with increased frequency of onions in the diet. Onions also are a chemoprevention agent that can be used to prevent, reverse or delay the development of cancer in patients with prostate cancer or increased risk for the disease. I am sure as research continues structural analysis of the flavones of onions will lead to the development of new drugs, which can be used as adjuvants in the treatment of cancer.

Reference:

Cruz-Correa M et al. "Combination Treatment With Curcumin and Quercetin of Adenomas in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis." Clinical Gastroenterology And Hepatology 2006; 4:1035-1038. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi? artid=2703843 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16388813

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