Phytochemical Polysulfides on Skin Cancer.

Polysulfides are phytochemicals in a class of chemical compounds containing chains of sulfur atoms, belonging to the group ofOrganosulfides found abundantly in the oxidized product, including beer, wine, whiskey, garlic oil, etc.

Skin cancer is a medical condition of uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells and often detected at an early stage.

In skin cancer progression, diallyl trisulfide (DATS) is more potent than mono- and disulfides against skin cancer, through inhibited cell growth of human melanoma A375 cells and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cells by increasing the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage and by inducing G2/M arrest, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis(1).

The study by the National Taiwan University, also showed that Diallyl sulfide (DAS), diallyl disulfide (DADS), and diallyl trisulfide (DATS), extracted from crushed garlic, inhibited skin cancer cell growth through involvement in G(2)/M arrest and apoptosis via activation of p53 pathway in response to the oxidative DNA damage(2).


The Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, study also insisted that DAS protect against ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced skin tumor formation through anti photocarcinogenesis effect accompanied by the down-regulation of cell-proliferative controls, involving thymine dimer, PCNA, apoptosis, transcription factors NF-κB, and of inflammatory responses involving COX-2, PGE2, and NO, and up-regulation of p53, p21/Cip1 to prevent DNA damage and facilitate DNA repair in hairless mice(3).


References
(1) Molecular mechanisms of garlic-derived allyl sulfides in the inhibition of skin cancer progression by Wang HC1, Pao J, Lin SY, Sheen LY.(PubMed)
(2) Allyl sulfides inhibit cell growth of skin cancer cells through induction of DNA damage mediated G2/M arrest and apoptosis By Wang HC1, Yang JH, Hsieh SC, Sheen LY.(PubMed)
(3) Diallyl sulfide protects against ultraviolet B-induced skin cancers in SKH-1 hairless mouse: analysis of early molecular events in carcinogenesis by Cherng JM1, Tsai KD, Perng DS, Wang JS, Wei CC, Lin JC.(PubMed)