Animal study: Dry beans inhibit development of mammary cancer

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Public release date: 4-Feb-2009

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/csso-dbi020409.php

Contact: Sara Uttech

suttech@...

Crop Science Society of America

Dry beans inhibit development of mammary cancer

A recent study published in Crop Science of the anti-cancer benefits of

dry beans shows that different market classes of beans contain varying

levels of antioxidants and other cancer reducing contents

Madison, WI, February 2, 2009 - As the world seeks new ways to prevent

and treat chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer,

more research continues to be conducted on the benefits of certain foods

in reducing people's risk of contracting these ailments. Legumes in

particular are often cited as being high in antioxidants, which have the

property of being able to fight off free radical cells within the body,

reducing the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. A recent study

further investigated these connections, as researchers focused on the

benefits of one type of legume, dry beans, in reducing the risk of

mammary cancer.

To address whether dry bean consumption is associated with a reduction

in mammary cancer, scientists at Colorado State University studied the

anticancer activity of six market classes of bean including; small red,

great northern, navy, black, dark red and white kidney bean in the diet

of laboratory animals. They also evaluated whether the level of

antioxidants or seed coat pigments in the bean were related to mammary

cancer. The study was funded by a grant from the Beans for Health

Alliance, and the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station with

assistance from Archer s Midland Co. and Bush Brothers Inc.

Results from the study were published in the January-February 2009 issue

of the journal Crop Science.

Cooked dry bean powder from the six market classes and a control group

without beans in the diet were fed to laboratory rats in a standard

preclinical model for breast cancer. The dry bean powders were also

evaluated for antioxidant capacity, phenolic and flavonoid content; all

factors thought to be associated with anticancer activity. Chemical

analysis of the beans revealed that total phenolic and flavonoid content

varied widely among market classes and the differences were strongly

associated with seed coat color; where colored beans had ten times or

greater phenolic and flavonoid content compared to white beans.

Antioxidant capacity of the beans also varied widely among dry bean

market classes and were highly related to seed coat color, where colored

beans had approximately two to three times greater antioxidant capacity

than white beans.

Dry bean consumption from every market class reduced cancer incidence

(number of animals with one tumor) and tumor number per animal compared

to the control group. Cancer incidence was reduced from 95% in the

control group to 67% in animals fed beans. The average number of

malignant tumors was also reduced from 3.2 in the control group to 1.4

tumors per animal in the group fed bean. No associations were observed

between phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidant capacity

with cancer among the bean market classes. These results clearly suggest

that the anticancer activity in dry bean is not associated with seed

color or antioxidant capacity.

Research is ongoing at Colorado State University to investigate the

mechanisms and molecules that contribute to the anticancer properties of

dry bean. Clinical trials are also underway to determine if bean in the

diet of humans are associated with biomarkers for cancer incidence.

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The full article is available for no charge for 30 days following the

date of this summary. View the abstract at

http://crop.scijournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/49/1/179.

Crop Science is the flagship journal of the Crop Science Society of

America. Original research is peer-reviewed and published in this highly

cited journal. It also contains invited review and interpretation

articles and perspectives that offer insight and commentary on recent

advances in crop science. For more information, visit

http://crop.scijournals.org.

The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), founded in 1955, is an

international scientific society comprised of 6,000+ members with its

headquarters in Madison, WI. Members advance the discipline of crop

science by acquiring and disseminating information about crop breeding

and genetics; crop physiology; crop ecology, management, and quality;

seed physiology, production, and technology; turfgrass science; forage

and grazinglands; genomics, molecular genetics, and biotechnology; and

biomedical and enhanced plants.

CSSA fosters the transfer of knowledge through an array of programs and

services, including publications, meetings, career services, and science

policy initiatives. For more information, visit www.crops.org

--

ne Holden, MS, RD

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

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