Modified Citrus Pectin

An,
I used modified citrus pectin till about a year ago. After attending a Dr "Snuffy" Myers in Sydney I stopped using it. He was dismissive of any claimed benefits and described it as a money maker for the alternative health industry. But there are studies that suggest there may be some benefit:

www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69327.cfm

I know Swimom is an advocate of its use. I could not find any in Australia but there was no problem bringing it in from the US (no hiccups with customs) (freight was a pain though)

I think this is the place I used to get it from ---------- I did send the details to Creed_three and CJ some time back so she may still have them

organicpharmacy.org/products/Modified.Citrus.Pectin.Powder/SKU:ARG71990


I used to dissolve it in pomegranate juice ------- it is hard to dissolve so put a heaped teaspoon it in a jar with the juice and shake vigorously.
Bill

billy, good for "snuffy" on that call. more wishful thinking i am afraid.

Hi Ya'll!

I have been an advocate of alternative treatments for cancer, including modified citrus pectin. Our family physician is an alternative medicine physician. Paul has had cancer twice and twice treatments have been successful. He's used several remedies, some of which are rather complicated to describe, so I won't bother anyone with the details. What I can say is 16 years after his first diagnosis he's healthy and his lab values are better today than when he was in his thirties. I cannot dismiss any of the treatments. In combination, Paul is a well man. That's enough for me!

As for the pectin; it was the physician who suggested its use. I didn't just come up with the idea on some web site. U of M works as part of Paul's medical team and they don't disagree with any of the choices we've made. One Doc many years ago was a major poo-hooer and kept calling silicea hocus-pocus medicine for example. Paul had been using it throughout radiation treatment in an effort to prevent the typical radiation burns his Doc claimed he couldn't avoid. Much to the Doc's puzzlement, he had to (almost) admit it worked. The closest he came was to admit "something" helped, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it...funny! I liked that man! More importantly, Paul escaped any hint of burns from a significant amount of radiation. While alternatives are not a substitute for necessary treatment, they can help.

Here are two articles that reached opposite conclusions.

The first says that Pectin introduces apoptosis (cell death) in prostate cancer cells in a laboratory study. But unfortunately, citrus pectin was NOT effective; apparently there are complex structural differences in different forms of pectin that are really important. The details are well beyond my understanding. The article is free on pubmed.

Glycobiology. 2007 Aug;17(8):805-19. Epub 2007 May 19.
Pectin induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells: correlation of apoptotic function with pectin structure.

Jackson CL, Dreaden TM, Theobald LK, Tran NM, Beal TL, Eid M, Gao MY, Shirley RB, Stoffel MT, Kumar MV, Mohnen D.

Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
Abstract

Treatment options for androgen-independent prostate cancer cells are limited. Therefore, it is critical to identify agents that induce death of both androgen-responsive and androgen-insensitive cells. Here we demonstrate that a product of plant cell walls, pectin, is capable of inducing apoptosis in androgen-responsive (LNCaP) and androgen-independent (LNCaP C4-2) human prostate cancer cells. Commercially available fractionated pectin powder (FPP) induced apoptosis (approximately 40-fold above non-treated cells) in both cell lines as determined by the Apoptosense assay and activation of caspase-3 and its substrate, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Conversely, citrus pectin (CP) and the pH-modified CP, PectaSol, had little or no apoptotic activity. Glycosyl residue composition and linkage analyses revealed no significant differences among the pectins. Mild base treatment to remove ester linkages destroyed FPP's apoptotic activity and yielded homogalacturonan (HG) oligosaccharides. The treatment of FPP with pectinmethylesterase to remove galacturonosyl carboxymethylesters and/or with endopolygalacturonase to cleave nonmethylesterified HG caused no major reduction in apoptotic activity, implicating the requirement for a base-sensitive linkage other than the carboxymethylester. Heat treatment of CP (HTCP) led to the induction of significant levels of apoptosis comparable to FPP, suggesting a means for generating apoptotic pectic structures. These results indicate that specific structural elements within pectin are responsible for the apoptotic activity, and that this structure can be generated, or enriched for, by heat treatment of CP. These findings provide the foundation for mechanistic studies of pectin apoptotic activity and a basis for the development of pectin-based pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, or recommended diet changes aimed at combating prostate cancer occurrence and progression.


In contrast, this second recent article from Columbia showed PectaSol DOES have a cancer inhibiting effect in the laboratory. Neither of these studies tested the materials in humans. So the 2003 study by Strum and Scholz is apparently still the only study that tested pectin in actual PC patients.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20462856

Post Edited (proscapt) : 12/17/2010 2:15:41 AM (GMT-7)

Hi An,

This is an older thread so not trying to revive it - but to answer a Dec question you asked when we were away recently.....

.... You said on around about 16th Dec.... " Lana, I was trying to get in touch, which lab does your husband use for his PSA testing?".

We use Douglass Hanly Moir - local pathologists here An. If you want to flick me an email last I checked,  the healing well email was working [email protected] I think! You should be able to access it from the link on the left. If not, let me know and I will check it.  You also said..  " Lana, Paul is 52 and I am 39 and we have a lot to live for. When Paul was diagnosed, I was in the midst of doing IVF but have now decided against trying for children. I want to focus on Paul's recovery.

We were also trying for another An for the 4 years prior to my hubby's diagnosis, but I had my last (our only together) at nearly 40 so all the best with your choices in such a personal thing. You may have a small window at 39 if you change your mind next year. Your hubby may not need your assistance An.... I know that sounds odd, but you cannot change the outcome here (in your hubby's situation and recovery), so don't let it overwhelm you as I allowed it to..You also need to find yourself, and rebuild your identity too...  outside this diagnosis and I left it for 3 years, thinking that I could change the outcome, which I cannot. So outside of your relationship, make sure you process this IVF decision closely and together,  so you have no regrets. I am not an "advice-giver" but it worries me that you think you need to solely focus on hubby's recovery at such a young age... I am sure it (the IVF) is not possible now with all the stress you are under, but in 2011 -  re-think it all. It is your life too, and you need to watch closely for your own potential for depression as a result if trying to do too much, and giving up so much....  So sorry for the tardy reply - have been away on holidays. Hope you and loved ones have had a peaceful Christmas and that the new year brings only good things, and an on-going and positive recovery for you all. PS...  No new news for us - PSA next April. Will post signature so you can see where were are at. cheers, Lana

I didn't want to create a new thread on the same topic, so I will update this one.

I have a brother who's tried this and it has produced some significant results and I'm wondering who else may have tried it.

MCP said...

1.What is modified citrus pectin? Pectin is a type of polysaccharide (a carbohydrate with many small sugar molecules that are chemically linked). Pectin is found in the cell walls of most plants and has gel-like qualities that are useful in making many types of food and medicine.

Citrus pectin is found in the peel and pulp of citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and limes. Citrus pectin can be modified with high pH and heat to break its molecules into smaller pieces. Modified citrus pectin (also called MCP) can be digested and absorbed by the body.

2.How is MCP administered or consumed? MCP may be taken by mouth in powder or capsule form.

3.Have any preclinical (laboratory or animal) studies been conducted using MCP? A study in prostate cancer cells compared 3 different kinds of pectin: citrus pectin, PectaSol (a dietary supplement with MCP), and fractionated pectin powder. Prostate cancer cells treated with the pectin powder had more damage than those treated with citrus pectin or PectaSol. However, when citrus pectin was modified by heating it, it caused the same amount of damage to prostate cancer cells as the pectin powder.

Only a few studies have reported the effects of MCP in animal models of cancer, including one prostate cancer study. Rats injected with prostate cancer cells and treated with MCP showed less spread of the cancer to the lungs but no effect on tumor growth at the original cancer site.

4.Have any population studies or clinical trials (research studies with people) of MCP been conducted? A few studies in prostate cancer patients suggest that MCP may have some anticancer benefits.

In a study of patients with advanced solid tumors, including prostate cancers, MCP powder in water was given 3 times/ day for at least 8 weeks. The study showed some quality of life improvements in physical functioning, overall health, fatigue, pain, and insomnia. about one-fourth of patients showed stable disease after 8 weeks of treatment and a smaller number had stable disease for more than 24 weeks. Since the study did not include a group of patients who did not receive MCP for comparison, it was not designed to be able to tell if any of these changes were due to the addition of MCP. The primary goal of the study was to determine if MCP would be well tolerated by cancer patients, and it was.

In a study of the effect of MCP on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) doubling time (how long it takes PSA levels in the blood to increase by 100 percent), prostate cancer patients who had rising PSA levels were given 6 PectaSol capsules 3 times/ day for 12 months. After treatment, 7 out of 10 patients showed a slowing of PSA doubling time.

5.Have any side effects or risks been reported from MCP? Two studies of MCP showed that most patients had very few side effects. Itching, stomach upset, and gassiness were reported in one study. In another study, 3 patients had abdominal cramps and diarrhea that went away when their treatment was stopped.

6.Is MCP approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use to prevent or treat cancer in the United States? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of MCP as a treatment for cancer or any other medical condition.

MCP is available in the United States in food products and dietary supplements. Because dietary supplements are regulated as foods, not as drugs, FDA approval is not required unless specific claims about disease prevention or treatment are made.

MCP said...

robertC said...
This is a phase 3 Israel study, after recurrence , of MCP on PSA doubling.

www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01681823

Thanks RobertC.....I did sift through the reference but could not find any specific info....any info on phase 1 and 2?