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Potential of unexploited Indian Legumes as Chemopreventor ‐ A Preliminary Investigation
Author(s) -
Kaushik Geetanjali,
Satya Santosh,
Naik S. N.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.22.2_supplement.805
Subject(s) - phytic acid , legume , germination , food science , roasting , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , traditional medicine , biochemistry , chemistry , medicine , botany
Cancer is a multifaceted disease requiring a multidimensional approach for its prevention and treatment. Out of multiple risk factors that involve interplay between genetic, food and related environmental components, diet is considered as a major risk factor. Therefore, it is important to study the role of diet in prevention and treatment of cancer. The inappropriate activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway has been implicated in the development of cancer; therefore the inhibition of this enzyme could play an important role in the treatment of cancer. It has been demonstrated that phytic acid significantly blocked PI3K pathway. Hence, phytic acid ‐ a naturally occurring compound with virtually no toxicity, assumes significance as an effective anticarcinogenic agent in humans. Fortunately, Phytic acid (Inositol hexaphosphate, IP6) is present in most legumes including those consumed in tribal areas. Present paper discusses the potential of an unexploited Indian legume Acacia nilotica which has been an integral part of the diet of especially the tribal communities in Rajasthan. This legume is a very rich source of phytic acid and hence would be useful in treatment and prevention of various types of cancer. The study objective is to investigate the domestic processes such as soaking, germination, roasting, ordinary cooking, pressure cooking and microwave cooking that may suitably enhance the release of phytic acid from seeds of Acacia nilotica. The phytic acid content is estimated according to the procedure of Plaami and Kumpulainen, 1991. The selected processing methods may cause a significant reduction in the phytic acid content of the seeds but an increase in the easily assimilable phytic acid in cooking medium that may be effective in preventing or treating cancer. Challenge lies in optimizing the process that will extract adequate amount of phytic acid along with the water soluble vitamins and minerals from the soaking/cooking medium.