Grape powder may help prevent colon cancer

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Eating a little bit -- but not a lot -- of freeze-dried grape powder may help prevent colon cancers, a study by the University of California, Irvine, found.

A research team led by Dr. Randall Holcombe found patients taking 80 grams daily of grape powder -- equal to a half glass of wine or one pound of grapes -- reduced Wnt signaling, a cellular signaling pathway linked to 85 percent of sporadic colon cancers.

"This is truly exciting, because it suggests that substances in grapes can block a key intracellular signaling pathway involved in the development of colon cancer before a tumor develops," Holcombe said in a statement.

The researchers found similar changes were not seen in study participants taking 120 grams of grape powder or in a third group taking resveratrol -- a nutritional supplement derived from grape extract.

The researchers aren't certain why the lower dose of grape powder was more effective than the higher dose, but they believe the active components in the grapes may have different effects at low dose than they do at high dose -- something fairly common in nutritional studies.

Holcombe is scheduled to present the findings Wednesday at the Society for Integrative Oncology's Fourth International Conference in San Francisco.