Carrageenan

Carrageenan is a natural product made from various parts of red algae or seaweed. Commonly, two types of seaweed are used in the production of commercial carrageenan, E. cottonii and E. spinosum. It was in the 1930’s that carrageenan began to be used on an industrial level, however is has been reported to be used in China since 600 B.C. In 2011, the Philippines were the largest producer of carrageenan, producing about 80% of the world’s supply. Naturally, the types of seaweed which is used for carrageenan can be found off of the Atlantic coast of Britain, Europe, and North America.

Carrageenan farms consist of rows of seaweed plants growing on nylon strings floating in the water. The plants are harvested about every three months. After harvesting the plants, they are dried and baled. The plants, ready for manufacturing, are ground, sorted, and washed. The cellulose (plant cell walls) is removed from the carrageenan by centrifuge, filtration, and evaporation. Three different types of industrial processing can be used in the processing of carrageenan, semi-refined, refined, and mixed processing.

Similar to gelatin and cornstarch, the main industrial uses of carrageenan is as a thickening agent, emulsifier, and a stabilizer. Processed foods such as cheese, chocolate milk, and jellies may all contain carrageenan. Processed meats such as sausages and hams can also contain carrageenan. Foods such as jellies, marshmallow fluff, and syrups use carrageenan as a thickener. An emulsifying agent allows liquids to stay mixed together. In this sense, carrageenan is used to allow chocolate milk, yogurts and other dairies to stay mixed together. Also, carrageenan can be used in ice creams to prevent sugar and ice from crystallizing. Carrageenan is only needed in foods which may need to travel or sit on a shelf and still appear appealing. If food is to be eaten immediately, there is no need for carrageenan or any other “gum” agent. Because carrageenan is made from seaweed, it is considered to be “natural” and able to be used in USDA certified organic foods.

Other than the food industry, carrageenan is used for medical purposes; however this is not as common. It is said that carrageenan can be used to help with coughs, bronchitis, and intestinal discomfort. It may also aid peptic ulcers and used as a laxative or a topical ointment.

Undegraded carrageenan is food quality, however degraded carrageenan is not. Carrageenan becomes degraded when acid is used to separate the cellulose from the gelatin substance. It is said that degraded carrageenan is a known carcinogen and tumor promoter in many lab animals. Also, it is believed to cause gastrointestinal malignancy and inflammatory bowel disease. Studies funded by the carrageenan industry finds no proof of these claims; however, many claims do not believe carrageenan should be consumed at any levels or levels higher than 5%.

Whether tumors and discomfort are a side effect of carrageenan or not, for every product on the shelf which contains it, there is a readily available alternative most likely sitting on the shelf next to it.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242073/

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-710-carrageenan.aspx?activeingredientid=710&activeingredientname=carrageenan

http://www.cornucopia.org/carrageenan-2013/

TNM Staging System

A tumor can either be benign or malignant.  When a tumor is benign, it is not cancerous.  The mass of cells is contained to its original location, and even though it can continue to grow, it does not spread to other parts of the body.  When a tumor is malignant, it is cancerous.  The tumor will grow, however, unlike a benign tumor; it will spread to other parts of the body.  Also, after the removal of a malignant tumor, it often will recur. 

Staging a tumor is often the next step after a cancer diagnosis.  Staging helps oncologists plan treatments, and assists in evaluating treatment results.  The TNM staging system is the common method of staging which allows health professionals to communicate about a tumor.  TNM staging is based on the size of the tumor (T), whether lymph nodes have been affected (N) and if the tumor has spread to other parts of the body, or metastasis (M) has occurred.  The TNM staging system has been around for more than fifty years.  The TNM Committee is made up of cancer experts from around the world. In general, each part of the TNM staging system is broken down into multiple parts. 

T - Tumor

TX: Primary tumor cannot be evaluated

T0: No evidence of primary tumor

Tis:  In situ (cells are not spreading and not cancerous, but can turn into cancer)

T1, T2, T3, T4: Size of the primary tumor

N - Lymph Nodes

NX: Lymph nodes cannot be evaluated

N0: No lymph node involvement

N1, N2, N3: Degree of regional lymph node involvement

M - Metastasis

MX: Metastasis cannot be evaluated

M0: No metastasis

M1: Metastasis is present

Each different type of cancer has its own method of classification on the TNM system.  Because of this, once a doctor determines the TNM of a cancer, a general stage from 0-4 (0, I, II, III, IV) is assigned.  In general, cancers that are in stage 0 are considered “in situ”, meaning that they have not spread past the initial location.  Stage I cancer is considered “localized”.  At this point, the tumor has spread to nearby tissue but is still in the original mass.  At this point, the cancer or tumor is considered a threat to life.  Stages II, and III are considered “regional spread”.  During these stages the lymph nodes are affected by the cancer and tumors can develop in the lymph node.  The cancers has spread to other organs or tissues in the area, but have not moved to other major body regions.  The final stage of cancer, stage IV, is called “distant spread”.  During stage IV, the cancer has been able to make its way throughout the body and tumors can begin to develop throughout the body.

The stage of cancer does not change overtime.  Even if a cancer spreads, it is still referred to as the stage it was in when first diagnosed.  Doctors will restage a cancer after treatments or periods of remission.  Restaging allows doctors to determine the best treatment of cancers that come back or are resilient to treatment.  Exams, imaging tests, biopsies, and surgery are all methods to stage and restage cancers and tumors.

http://www.nccn.org/patients/resources/diagnosis/staging.aspx

https://cancerstaging.org/references-tools/Pages/What-is-Cancer-Staging.aspx

http://www.uicc.org/resources/tnm

http://www.cancer.org/treatment/understandingyourdiagnosis/staging

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/staging

http://pathology.jhu.edu/pc/BasicTypes1.php

Biotransformation

The body is an amazing organism which is able to handle much of what is consumed by it. When foreign chemicals are put in the body, what we think of as drugs, it is able to either eliminate or use them. The term used scientifically for these foreign chemicals, often ones which cannot be produced naturally, are known as xenobiotics. Eventually, all chemicals put into the body end up as waste. The process of getting a chemical from its original structure to waste is known as biotransformation. Biotransformation is defined as the conversion of molecules from one form into another within an organism. When a chemical goes through biotransformation, ultimately one of three things can happen. The chemical can increase its toxicity (known as bioactivation), decrease its toxicity (known as detoxification), or stay the same. The major organ which carries out biotransformation is the liver; however the kidney, lungs, testes, skin, and intestines can play a part in biotransformation processes. In general, the liver hosts enzymatic processes that modify the chemical structure of xenobiotics making them more water-soluble. Increasing the water-solubility of a chemical, or making them more hydrophilic, increases their ability to be eliminated and decreases their half-life.

Enzymes are the catalysts for nearly all biochemical reactions in the body. Without these enzymes, biotransformation reactions would take place slowly or not at all. This can cause major health problems. The enzymes are often known to have a lock and key relationship. This means that the enzyme binding site is a specific shape, and a perfectly matching substrate is needed to bind to and activate the enzyme. If the substrate does not fit into the enzyme, no reaction can occur. An enzyme can have absolute specificity (an enzyme will only catalyze one reaction), group specificity (an enzyme can catalyze any molecule with a specific functional group), and linkage specificity (an enzyme will react with any molecule with a certain chemical bond).

There are two phases of biotransformation; phase I and phase II. During phase I biotransformation, an enzyme exposes or adds a functional group to a xenobiotics. Oxidation and reduction takes place during phase I biotransformation. The most common oxidizing enzyme is cytochrome P450 (cytP450). CytP450 has the ability to reduce xenobiotics under anaerobic (low oxygen) conditions. This causes lipid soluble xenobiotics to become more water soluble. It is during phase I that a substance will become inactive, active, or not change. From this point, many chemical substances can be excreted directly in urine. For those substances that cannot be excreted yet, phase II biotransformation takes place. One of the major phase II pathways in mammals (except cats) is called glucuronidation. During glucuronidation, glucuronic acid is combined with toxins. Glucuronidation almost always results in decreased potency and half life of a chemical. If a xenobiotic makes it to phase II, upon completion it is excreted in urine.

The course of xenobiotics in the body is attempting to be modeled and traced through an organism. This study is known as toxicokinetics. Many factors can influence the biotransformation capacity of the liver including liver pathologies, age, sex, and species differences.

http://web.squ.edu.om/med-Lib/MED_CD/E_CDs/anesthesia/site/content/v02/020160r00.HTM

http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/150674/

http://classes.uleth.ca/200901/biol3440a/BIO3440.3BiotransformationWEB.pdf