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October 21, 2020 2 min read
Did you know, Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) is a citrus plant that grows almost exclusively in the narrow coastal Calabria region in southern Italy. The local population quickly discovered bergamot juice could be used to help support healthy cholesterol levels and optimize cardiovascular wellness.
Bergamot’s health benefits derive from its unique profile of phenolic compounds such as, neoeriocitrin, neohesperidin, naringin, rutin, neodesmin, rhoifolin and poncirin. Naringin has been shown to be beneficial in maintaining normal inflammatory balance, while neoeriocitrin and rutin have been found to exhibit a strong capacity to quench free radicals and maintain healthy LDL cholesterol levels. Also, bergamot is rich in brutieridine and melitidine, which have a unique ability to dampen HMG-CoA reductase, and THAT is the key!
The tumor-promoting effects of enhanced fatty acid synthesis were first appreciated in the 1990s when fatty acid synthase (FASN) expression was identified as prognostic marker of aggressive breast cancers (Kuhajda et al., 1994).
The tendency of ovarian cancers to metastasize to the momentum has been shown to be driven by crosstalk between adipocytes (fat cells and accompanying fatty acids) and the ovarian cancer cells (Nieman et al., 2011). The uptake of fatty acids not only by the tumor cells but also the connective tissue cells necessary for building new cancer cells can affect continued tumor progression. In short, the more a cancer can efficiently make use of fatty acids, the poorer the prognosis.
Furthermore, cancers crave fatty acids and can activate adipose triglyceride lipase (a very specific enzyme that breaks down the body’s fat) in the white adipose tissue and skeletal muscle to make use of such fatty acids for continued growth. This has been linked to cachexia, suggesting that inhibition of such lipases might help alleviate the devastating problems associated with it (Das et al., 2011).
Enter Bergamot, one possible hero.
One study on Colorectal cancer (CRC) revealed evidence that citrus bergamia juice extracts (BJe) reduces CRC cell growth by multiple mechanisms.(1) Another showed that bergamot even eradicated cancer stem cells! (2)
We suggest taking 3-6 Bergamot BPF capsules per day in divided doses depending on the progression and severity of the cancer. You may also consider bergamot essential oil as an oral or topical addition.
(1) Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2014;14(10):1402-13. Bergamot juice extract inhibits proliferation by inducing apoptosis in human colon cancer cells. Visalli G, Ferlazzo N, Cirmi S, Campiglia P, Gangemi S, Di Pietro A, Calapai G, Navarra M1.
(2) Bergamot natural products eradicate cancer stem cells (CSCs) by targeting mevalonate, Rho-GDI-signalling and mitochondrial metabolism. Authors: MarcoFiorilloabcMariaPeiris-PagèsaRosaSanchez-AlvarezaLuciaBartelladLeonardoDi DonnadVincenzaDolcecGiovanniSindonadFedericaSotgiaabAnna RitaCappellocMichael P.Lisanti