11-24-2007, 08:36 PM
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Lecturer
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Propecia, CA
Posts: 1,849
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Green Tea May Protect Against Acrylamide Danger
What is Acrylamide and why should we care?
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Potential health risk
There is evidence that exposure to large doses can cause damage to the male reproductive glands. Direct exposure to pure acrylamide by inhalation, skin absorption, or eye contact irritates the exposed mucous membranes, e.g. the nose, and can also cause sweating, urinary incontinence, nausea, myalgia, speech disorders, numbness, paresthesia, and weakened legs and hands. In addition, the acrylamide monomer is a potent neurotoxin, causing the disassembly or rearrangement of intermediate filaments[3]. Ingested acrylamide is metabolised to a chemically reactive epoxide, glycidamide.[1]
Cancer
According to a 2005 review[4], acrylamide reliably produces various types of cancer in experimental mice and rats. However, studies in human populations have failed to produce consistent results, and it remains unclear whether this is due to a reduced risk in a natural setting or the methodological difficulties inherent in such studies. For example, it might be difficult to isolate the effects of acrylamide because it is so ubiquitous in western diets.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrylamide
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A rapid and inexpensive method to screen for common foods that reduce the action of acrylamide, a harmful substance in food.
Hasegawa K, Miwa S, Tajima T, Tsutsumiuchi K, Taniguchi H, Miwa J.
Institute for Biological Function, Chubu University, 1200 Matsumoto, Kasugai 487-8501, Japan; Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan.
By DNA microarray and protein 2-DE screens for Caenorhabditis elegans genes up-regulated by acrylamide, we selected the gst-4 gene and constructed a gst::gfp fusion gene, which was used to transform C. elegans into a biosensor for acrylamide.
This biosensor detects acrylamide as a GFP-expression signal in a dose- and time-dependent manner.
When the biosensor was exposed to acrylamide together with commercially available powdered green tea, GFP levels decreased to the control level, suggestive of acrylamide detoxification or prevention of GST induction.
The present methodology should be applicable for screening of not only harmful substances but also substances that reduce or counteract their harmfulness or action, with appropriately constructed visible biosensors.
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Green Tea May Protect Against Acrylamide Damage
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