Mucins are the sticky coating on cancer cells that create a barrier to keep out cancer killing phytochemicals and drugs.
Researchers have been trying to find a way eliminate this substance so they can get their drugs inside the cancer cell as mucins often contribute to chemo resistance.
With cancer, mucins are often over expressed with the exception MUC2, which is protective and is often under expressed.
Most of the current mucin-based therapy approaches have focused on a target single mucin at a time.
Doesn’t it seem like a good idea to find substances that target multiple mucins at the same time?
Recently, several studies have demonstrated the ability of natural substances to modulate mucin expression.
The chart below highlights 11 natural substances known to help downregulate MUC1, MUC2, MUC4, MUC5, and MUC16 or upregulate MUC2 (protective).
- Curcumin (Turmeric)
- Apigenin (Celery)
- Glycyrrhizin (Licorice)
- Guggulserone (Myrrh tree)
- Thymoquinone (Black Seed Oil)
- Silibinin (Milk Thistle)
- Scutellarin- (Scullcap)
- Graviola (Paw Paw)
- Quercetin (red onions, broccoli, peppers, apples, black tea)
- Ursolic acid (apples, cranberies, peppermint, oregano, thyme)
- Resveratrol- (grapes, pistachios, blueberries, cranberries)
Isn’t it something that these plant compounds naturally correct both the overexpression AND underexpression of mucins at the same time!??
