Cabbage compound protects healthy tissue from radiation damage

Posted by Neill Abayon


A team of US researchers has discovered that an anti-cancer compound present in cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, also protects rodents from lethal doses of radiation.  

 The compound, called 3,3'-diindolylmethane, and known more simply as "DIM," is already shown to be safe in humans, and so the researchers expect it could serve as a shield to protect healthy tissue in human cancer patients from damage by radiation therapy, or lessen its side effects.

The team, from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) in Washington, DC, reports its findings in the latest online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

One of the researchers, Eliot Rosen, a professor of oncology, biochemistry and cell and molecular biology, and radiation medicine at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, a part of GUMC, says:

"DIM has been studied as a cancer prevention agent for years, but this is the first indication that DIM can also act as a radiation protector."

More here.