Natural cancer fighters - Goodnews: essential natural health news - Brief Article

The chemical that gives garlic its flavor could one day be used in a "smart bomb" to fight cancer, scientists say. The chemical--allicin--is produced as a biochemical reaction between alliinase and alliin, and it's toxic to tumor cells.

Usually, allicin is produced by chewing these two chemicals, and the allicin is immediately rendered harmless. But Israeli researchers have found a way to get these two compounds--separately--to a tumor site by using an antibody programmed to recognize distinctive receptors on a cancerous tumor's surface. When the alliinase and alliin finally meet up at the tumor cell surface, the resulting reaction creates allicin, which penetrates and kills the tumor cells. You can't accomplish the same thing by eating the herb. But garlic's components may yet become what we all hope for--a cure for cancer.

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