The relationship between wine and cancer
(1) Rumors of wine causing cancer
Everything has to be done with care. Most cancers are not related to moderate consumption, but excessive consumption can cause some cancers. Various substances in alcoholic beverages and their breakdown products can produce ethyl carbamate after fermentation, depending on the amount of light and temperature. Ethyl carbamate was recognized as a carcinogen in 1943. However, more than 90% of ethyl carbamate is broken down in the liver by ester enzymes to non-toxic acetic acid, ammonia and carbohydrates, and 5% is excreted in the urine.
Some phenols in wine are protective, while others are mutagenic, especially at high concentrations. For example, quercetin is used to induce mutations in laboratory tissue cultures. However, quercetin can inhibit malignant cell growth in vitro. This difference may be caused by different concentrations of quercetin, metal ions and free oxygen.
There are rumors that wine causes breast cancer. However, long-term studies have not found that moderate consumption induces breast cancer. This may be due to the metabolism of ethanol into acetaldehyde during the metabolism of ethanol. If the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, which converts acetaldehyde to acetic acid, is absent or inactive in the body, combined with chronic overconsumption, acetaldehyde can accumulate in the body and acetaldehyde can induce cancer. In addition, alcohol abuse increases the incidence of oral cancer and laryngeal cancer. However, ethanol itself is not carcinogenic, but it can promote the production of carcinogens.
(2) Polyphenols and flavonoids inhibit carcinogens
Phenolic substances in wine can remove small amounts of nitrite contained in food. Generally speaking, nitrite is used as a preservative in smoked and preserved wine foods at high levels. Long-term high intake of nitrite is likely to induce oral and stomach cancers. Flavonoids and flavonols can inhibit carcinogens, such as heterocyclic amines, that are produced when food is cooked at high temperatures. The anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects of flavonoids also help to inhibit cancer.
Phenols may also limit or prevent cancer through DNA repair, carcinogen degradation, apoptosis, and interference with cell division. Resveratrol inhibits the production of cardiovascular system necessary for tumor growth and also inhibits the growth of cyclooxygenase-2 and cytochrome P450 1A1. Cyclooxygenase-2 is involved in tumorigenesis, and P450 1A1 is an important hydroxylated enzyme that initiates carcinogens.
(3) Resveratrol
Studies in 1993 showed that both trans-resveratrol and cis-resveratrol have anticancer activity because they inhibit the activity of protein tyrosine kinases. Following the study by Jang et al. they further showed that resveratrol has strong anticancer activity in three stages of carcinogenesis, i.e. initiation, promotion and development, and inhibits or even reverses the three stages of carcinogenesis.
Initiation inhibition. Reduce the formation of free radicals, induce the increase of phase II pharmacokinetic enzymes, and antagonize the effect of dioxins.
Inhibition and enhancement. Inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX) and hydrogen peroxide enzymes.
Developmental inhibition. Inhibits cancer cell proliferation, induces cancer cell differentiation, and induces cancer cell apoptosis.
Resveratrol is expected to be an inhibitor of the tyrosine protein kinase PTK. Many medical studies have found that resveratrol has a significant inhibitory effect on malignant tumor cells such as breast, stomach, colon, prostate, leukemia, ovarian, and skin cancers.
