Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014; 19(4): 253-258
Published online December 31, 2014
https://doi.org/10.15430/JCP.2014.19.4.253
© Korean Society of Cancer Prevention
Shin-Hye Kwak1, Young-Mi Cho1, Geon-Min Noh2, and Ae-Son Om1
1Laboratory of Food Safety and Toxicology, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea, 2Functional Food and Nutrition Division, Department of Agrofood Resources, National Academy of Agricultural Science, Wanju, Korea
Correspondence to :
Ae-Son Om, Laboratory of Food Safety and Toxicology, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791, Korea, Tel: +82-2-2220-1203, Fax: +82-2-2220-1856, E-mail: aesonom@hanyang.ac.kr, ORCID: Ae-Son Om, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9452-9647
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The number of death due to cancer has been increasing in Korea. Chemotherapy is known to cause side effects because it damages not only cancerous cells but healthy cells. Recently, attention has focused on food-derived chemopreventive and anti-tumor agents or formulations with fewer side effects. Kimchi, most popular and widely consumed in Korea, contains high levels of lactic acid bacteria and has been shown to possess chemopreventive effects. This review focuses on
Keywords: Kimchi,
According to the Korean national statistical office, the main cause of death in Korea was cancer in 2012. The total number of deaths due to cancer in 2012 was 267,221, which was increased by 9,825 (3.8%) compared to 2011.1 This was the all-time high since 1983. Currently, the treatment of cancer patients in the medical field consists mainly of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Seventy to eighty percent of cancer patients in chemotherapy experienced side effects such as anemia, the decreased number of white blood cells and/or platelets, oral mucositis, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, and disabled generative functions as chemotherapy also affects the rapidly proliferating normal cells.2 Most side effects are temporary and patients recover fully; but, some side effects may take months or years to completely disappear. To decrease side effects from non-specific cytotoxicity, new drugs, such as targeted agents, are being developed to selectively destroy specific cancer cells. However, because of problems, such as tolerance manifestation, partly critical toxicity, decrease in sensitivity, and restriction in subjects, new drugs take only a small portion of the cancer treatment realm.3
Chemoprevention is defined as the use of nontoxic or relatively safe chemical substances, such as vitamins, plant extracts, and pharmaceuticals to prevent cancer. It is effective in decreasing cancer risk and is helpful in early stages of cancer.4 Hence, regular consumption of anticancer foods that display no or little toxicity to the body and boost efficacy of anti-tumor drugs or stop the development of tolerance would be beneficial in preventing cancer. Thus, consumption of plant-derived natural foods to prevent cancer with few side effects and toxicity is crucial.5
Recently, there has been a growing interest in probiotics due to the discovery of multidrug-resistant organisms that are tolerant to antibiotics. The word ‘probiotics’ is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘for life’ and holds the opposite meaning from antibiotics which means ‘against life’. Probiotics consist of microorganisms and substances, which modify the intestinal microflora, and when used as dietary supplement they have positive effects on health such as fortification of host immune function, suppression of diarrhea, and inhibition of carcinogenesis.6
Kimchi, a Korean traditional food, is fermented by probiotic lactic acid bacteria.7 Kimchi lactic acid bacteria are known to suppress the activity of carcinogen-activating enzymes, such as azoreductase, nitroreductase, 7-α-dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase, and β-glucuronidase and inactivate or neutralize the cancer-causing agents and pathogenic microbes.8 In addition, the intake of lactic acid bacteria as part of kimchi improves bowel movement, strengthens immunity, ameliorates hepatocirrhosis, and decreases serum cholesterol levels.9,10 Among lactic acid bacteria identified during the fermentation of kimchi,
This commentary deals with anticarcinogenic effects of kimchi and lactic acid bacteria,
Kimchi, a fermented cabbage indispensable to Korean cuisine, was once considered to be a risk factor for stomach cancer. However, unless one consumes kimchi that contains excess salt, kimchi, in general, is a healthy food recognized for its antioxidant, antiobese, cancer preventive, and other health beneficial effects.7 Cancer preventive/anticarcinogenic activity of kimchi is associated with the type of ingredients and products formed during fermentation.14
The kimchi’s main ingredient, Chinese cabbage, has been considered to be effective in preventing stomach cancer according to epidemiologic studies and is known to inhibit colorectal carcinogenesis due to its abundance in dietary fiber.15 Garlic, in particular, has been acknowledged for its anticancer effect due to high contents of organosulfur compounds (11 to 35 mg/g). Thirty-three types of organosulfur compounds have been identified in garlic.16 Organosulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to facilitate the detoxification of carcinogens by glutathione-S-transferase, modulate the activity of metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome P450s, and inhibit the formation of DNA adducts in several target tissues.17-19 Antiproliferative activity of organosulfur compounds has been demonstrated in tumor cell lines including colon, prostate, and breast, which is mediated by induction of apoptosis via the caspase-3 signaling pathway and cell-cycle arrest.20,21 One possible mechanism of cancer preventive effects of garlic in stomach cancer development involves its antimicrobial activities against
In addition to each ingredient of kimchi, kimchi extract was used to investigate cancer preventive/anticarcinogenic activity of kimchi. Extract of kimchi fermented for 3 weeks inhibited the proliferation of human cancer cell lines (gastric adenocarcinoma and acute promyelocytic leukemia). Leukemia cells treated with kimchi extract showed increased apoptosis and decreased mitochondrial transmembrane potential.25 The juice of 3-week fermented kimchi suppressed the growth of K-562 human leukemia cells and MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells but no toxicity of kimchi juice was found in normal cells.26
Sarcoma180 cells transplanted mice were treated with methanol extract of 3-week fermented kimchi. Animals provided kimchi extract showed in smaller tumor weight and decreased malondialdehyde formation compared to those of the control group.27
Although there has been no general acceptance on how to define probiotic microorganisms,
There have been many studies reported on the functionality of lactic acid bacteria in the fermentation process of kimchi and their importance in the health beneficial effects of kimchi, including prevention of cancer.29 According to pyrosequencing analysis of commercial kimchi samples to identify kimchi lactic acid bacteria, the genus
Studies have reported that microorganisms, including lactic acid bacteria, secreted exopolysaccharides (EPS) with the anticancer, anti-inflammatory, immune modulating, and blood cholesterol declining functions.36 It was demonstrated that
Ornithine, a type of amino acid produced from its arginine precursor, is reported to accelerate growth hormone excretion and has an antiobesity effect. During the kimchi fermentation process, the level of arginine, an ornithine precursor, has decreased while the ornithine level increased rapidly, which suggested that kimchi is a source of ornithine. Moreover, a correlation between the amount of
To evaluate the possible use of
This paper describes the cancer preventive/anti-carcinogenic potential of kimchi lactic acid bacteria, focusing on
Species | Sources |
---|---|
Kimchi, Malaysian foods | |
Cassava fermentation | |
Sugar cane | |
Cocoa fermentation | |
Fermented cocoa | |
Sausage | |
Kimchi | |
Fermented Greek sausage | |
Desert spring | |
Kimchi | |
Milking machine slime | |
Fermented Greek sausage | |
Fermented fish in Thailand | |
Soil | |
Fermented fish in Thailand | |
Cured meat products |
Exopolysaccharide (EPS) production of
Species | Strain No. | EPS productivity (mm)a |
---|---|---|
CK0232 | 0.9 | |
CK0235 | 0.5 | |
CK0487 | 1.0 | |
CK0633 | 0.9 | |
KK0797 | 0.8 | |
KK0798 | 0.8 | |
JG6054 | 0.7 | |
KM1211 | 0.6 | |
CK0128 | 0.7 | |
KK0631 | 0.4 | |
KK0637 | 0.4 |
aProductivity of EPS was indicated by the diameters of slime products around colonies. The results are the average values of three replicates.
Tae-Jin Son, So-Hee Kim1 and Kun-Young Park
Journal of Korean Association of Cancer prevention 1998; 3(1): 65-74You Na Oh, Soojung Jin, Hyun-Jin Park, Hyun Ju Kwon, and Byung Woo Kim
Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016; 21(4): 249-256 https://doi.org/10.15430/JCP.2016.21.4.249Eun-Ju Cho, Sook-Hee Rhee, Seon-Mi Lee and Kun-Young Park
Journal of Korean Association of Cancer prevention 1997; 2(2): 113-121