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juice is more than just the glass of sunshine that marketers
promote. A Michigan State University study presented last month
at the American Institute for Cancer Research annual conference
revealed that orange juice slashed the incidence of colon cancer
in animals by 22 percent.
 This
report by Maurice Bennink, professor of food science and human
nutrition at Michigan State and study coauthor, is the first
to document that drinking regular strength, not-from-concentrate
orange juice significantly inhibits the development of colon
cancer in animals.
Previous studies
have shown that double strength orange juice or carotenoid-rich
extracts from citrus inhibit the development of different types
of cancers.
"This
study confirms that some foods are going to help reduce the risk
of some cancers," Bennink said. "While people are looking
at supplements and pills to live longer, there is some synergy
in a number of different chemicals present, as they are with
whole foods. It's probably better to stay with whole foods, and
orange juice is one of these."
Bennink and
his MSU team of Y. Miyagi and A.S. Om, and K.M. Chee of Korea
University for 28 weeks fed rats a diet that included orange
juice that was not from concentrate -- identical to juice available
in grocery stores -- and gave another group of rats distilled
water to drink.
The scientists
induced colon cancer in the rats and later examined them for
tumor development. The rats that drank orange juice had 22 percent
fewer incidence of early tumor development.
"The
results from this study provide further evidence that certain
substances in orange juice slows down the cancer process in the
colon," Bennink said. "We have identified at least
three classes of compounds in orange juice that may be responsible
for the reducing colon cancer."
Rates for
digestive tract and hormone cancers vary widely among countries.
Diet is considered one of the major factors accounting for such
differences. Bennink and his associates knew that other research
had shown that the compounds inhibited tumors in doses stronger
than typically consumed by people.
Other research
has shown that compounds found in orange juice and other citrus
fruits -- called flavanones, limonoids and cumarins -- inhibited
the development of some cancerous tumors. Bennink said it appears
that the compounds change the characteristics of the lining of
the colon, making it a less friendly place for cancer cells to
develop.
The specific
chemopreventive agents discussed in the report are hesperidin
and limonin glucoside, which are phytochemicals that are found
in citrus fruits and juices. Phytochemicals are chemical components
of foods that do not belong to the traditional nutrient classes
of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins or minerals.
Phytochemicals
found in fruits, vegetables and legumes, such as flavonoids found
in orange and grapefruit juices, have been receiving increasing
attention for their anticancer properties.
Cancer is
the second leading cause of death in the US, exceeded only by
heart disease. More than 1,500 people a day die from cancer,
totaling approximately 563,100 Americans each year.
The study
was funded by Tropicana Products Inc. and the MSU Agricultural
Experiment Station. 
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