Alternative Medicine Digest

Issue #19

Natural Pharmacy

Products, Techniques, and Services You Can Use:

Beta-1,3/1,6-D-glucan for Immune System Activation

 

Natural Pharmacy - Issue # 19

Products, Techniques, and Services You Can Use

 

Beta-1,3/1,6-Glucan for Immune System Activation
     Ever since the 1940s, scientists have been honing their knowledge of the remarkable abilities of a simple substance derived from baker's yeast to effectively stimulate and activate the immune system and to work therapeutically in cancer, ulcers, radiation exposure, infection, and trauma.

Beta-1,3/1,6-glucan, a simple sugar derived from the cell wall of a common yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is now available in a daily supplement form as MacroForce from ImmuDyne^®, Inc., in Houston, Texas. MacroForce^®'s beta-1,3/1,6-glucan is a purified isolate and does not contain any yeast proteins that would otherwise provoke allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, according to Leonid Ber, M.D., vice president of research and development for ImmuDyne.

     The research supporting the claims for beta-1,3/1,6-glucan as an immune system activator has been building steadily in recent decades. In 1996 alone, 144 scientific studies were published on the medical uses of beta-1,3/1,6-glucan. One fact has consistently emerged from these studies: beta-1,3/1,6-glucan produces its multiple broad-scale immune effects by being a nonspecific immune stimulator. This means it causes a response capable of being directed at many conditions, perhaps all.

 Research at Harvard University in the 1980s showed that the macrophage-a key immune system white blood cell that "eats" unwanted, foreign microbes-has a specific receptor for beta-1,3-glucan. In non-technical terms, we might say the yeast talks directly to the immune cell. When the macrophage is activated by this contact, it starts a "cascade of events turning the cells into 'an arsenal of defense,'" explains Donald J. Carrow, M.D., a physician based in Tampa, Florida, who has used beta-1,3/1,6-glucan successfully with many patients.

Dr. Carrow further notes that the specificity of this macrophage receptor site may explain why beta-1,3/1,6-glucan "is one of the most potent stimulators of the immune response." Dr. Carrow says that "there is now evidence to show that beta-1,3-glucan is, from an evolutionary point of view, the most widely and most commonly observed macrophage activator in nature.

     Beta-1,3/1,6-glucan's beneficial role in treating cancer was illuminated in 1975 by Peter W. Mansell, M.D., and colleagues, as reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Nodules of malignant skin cancer in nine patients were injected with beta-1,3/1,6-glucan. The size of the cancer lesions was "strikingly reduced in as short a period as five days" and in small lesions "resolution was complete," Dr. Mansell reported.

In the mid-1980s, researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine reported that beta-1,3/1,6-glucan injected directly into chest-wall malignant ulcers (in women who had already undergone mastectomy and radiation therapy for breast cancer) healed the sores completely.

     Beta-1,3-glucan's radiation protection effects were shown in 1985 when the U.S. Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute announced the results of their recent experiments. Myra D. Patchen, M.D., and her team at the Institute exposed mice to lethal doses of radiation. When the mice were given an oral dose of beta-1,3/1,6-glucan after the radiation exposure, 70% were completely protected from the damaging effects.

The ingestion produced measurable increases in the production of key immune cell components, Dr. Patchen reported. She also noted that the strongest benefits were observed one day before, one hour before, and one hour after radiation exposure. Dr. Patchen also suggested that beta-1,3/1,6-glucan should be considered as an effective way of rebuilding the immune system and preventing infection following chemotherapy and radiation in cancer treatment.

Dr. Patchen further suggested that beta-1,3/1,6-glucan appears to work as a free-radical scavenger. She believes it may even protect the macrophages from damage by radiation, toxins, heavy metals, invading microbes, and other poisons (collectively called free radicals) in the body.

   When it comes to resisting infections, beta-1,3/1,6-glucan's capabilities are well documented. Scientists at the State University of São Paulo in Brazil tested beta-1,3/1,6-glucan's ability to stimulate the immune system against a fungal skin infection. Nine patients with serious fungal infections were given beta-1,3/1,6-glucan intravenously once weekly for one month, followed by monthly doses for 11 months. They also received a conventional antifungal drug.

There was only one case of relapse among these patients, while another group of eight infected patients who were treated only with the antifungal drug had five relapses. The researchers also observed that the nine patients in the first group had far lower residual traces of the fungal infection in their blood chemistry, concluding that "the patients who received glucan, in spite of being more seriously ill, had a stronger and more favorable response to therapy."

     Evidence from animal studies demonstrates that beta-1,3/1,6-glucan can reduce the amount of conventional antibiotics required in infectious conditions such as peritonitis (inflammation of the membrane lining of the abdominal and pelvic cavities). In mice infected with bacteria to produce peritonitis, a combination of beta-1,3/1,6-glucan and a standard antibiotic increased the long-term survival by 56%.

     Bacterial counts were noticeably down within eight hours of the injection and the numbers of key immune cells were markedly higher. "Clinical use of immunomodulators [a substance that directs immune response] may alter conventional use and dosage of antibiotics," study director William Browder, M.D., of Tulane University in New Orleans, suggested in 1987.

Dr. Browder also reported on the benefits of using beta-1,3/1,6-glucan to stimulate immune response and prevent infection in patients undergoing surgery for physical trauma. In his study, 21 patients received beta-1,3/1,6-glucan intravenously every day for one week. Dr. Browder reported that the incidence of infection in these patients was "significantly reduced" (only a 9.5% incidence of infection) compared to the rate among those who did not receive glucan therapy (49%). The glucan-treated patients also had a greater increase in key immune factors within three days and a much lower mortality rate (0% compared to 29%) than the non-glucan-treated group.

     In his own clinical practice, Dr. Carrow has tested beta-1,3/1,6-glucan on a variety of conditions, including cancer and ulcers, and for general health maintenance. Dr. Carrow injected a skin cancer lesion with 10 mg of beta-1,3/1,6-glucan and within three months the tumor had completely disappeared, he reports. Five breast cancer patients undergoing radiation took 7.5 mg daily of beta-1,3-glucan and were free of radiation injuries to the skin. By applying beta-1,3-glucan topically to ulcers on two patients, Dr. Carrow was able to heal them completely within two months.

 

Heartburn Relief with Enzymes and Herbs
     To those experiencing heartburn, that burning sensation in the upper chest that seems to come in waves about an hour after eating can be intensely uncomfortable.

     While it's customary among many people to automatically reach for a commercial antacid to neutralize the overly acid stomach (what they believe produces heartburn), in general these products have several disadvantages. First, they suppress the activity of pepsin, a stomach acid required to digest protein; and second, many products contain aluminum, a toxic heavy metal which has been proven to be absorbable by the body from products such as antacids.

Third, as some antacids primarily contain calcium carbonate, routine use of antacids can lead to excess calcium absorption, which in turn can contribute to kidney stones and other problems. Calcium antacids can also produce acid rebound several hours later, in which the stomach secretes even more acid to compensate for the earlier neutralization of its acidity.

     An herbal solution can be as effective (if not more so) than antacids, without the disadvantages. For example, Acid Ease, a plant enzyme digestion formula produced by Prevail Corporation in Gresham, Oregon, combines three digestive enzymes with a rice bran oil extract, and two herbs known to help the stomach. Before discussing how these ingredients soothe the acidity of heartburn, it's helpful to understand the physiology of heartburn.

     Known clinically as esophageal reflux, heartburn involves irritation to the lining of the esophagus, which is the alimentary canal connecting the throat to the stomach. A muscular valve called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), located where the stomach meets the esophagus, is in charge of opening to allow food to enter the stomach (or air to leave, as belches). It also keeps the stomach's acids from moving up the esophagus. But if the LES opens too wide or too often, the stomach's hydrochloric acid seeps into the esophagus and "burns" it.

This can happen from overeating or high consumption of fats and oils, consuming foods known to relax the LES (citrus, garlic, chocolate, coffee, alcohol, peppermint), smoking, being pregnant or significantly overweight, or from eating while under stress, during which the nerves controlling the LES are strained.

     While an herbal-enzyme approach to heartburn is clearly effective, if heartburn occurs regularly, such as once weekly, it could indicate more complicated problems, such as a hiatal hernia (a tear in the diaphragm in which the stomach or esophagus intrudes into the chest cavity), an enzymatic imbalance or deficiency, or stress or dysfunction in the spleen, adrenal glands, or liver. It might also indicate a need to reformulate one's diet along more digestible lines.

     As a short-term, "first aid" way to resolve heartburn, the ingredients in Acid Ease are well chosen to produce relief. The enzymes included in Acid Ease are amylase (to digest carbohydrates), lipase (to digest fats), and cellulase (to digest plant fibers). Normally, we get our enzymes, depending on the type, from foods, the pancreas, and body cells.

     With a healthy diet, the foods we eat contain enzymes which start digesting foods in the stomach. But a poor diet or overcooking food means the pancreas has to supply enzymes for digestion. This eventually leads to enzyme depletion. If your system is deficient in any of the key digestive enzymes or if their activity is blocked by other factors, adding additional enzymes to your system at the time of eating can help put the digestive process back on track.

     Acid Ease's enzymes are derived from a fungal source (Aspergillus oryzae, the fungus used to ferment the soybeans in miso). Research suggests that in some cases fungal enzymes may perform better than those derived from plants. The enzymes in Acid Ease are active in a wide range of stomach conditions, from hyperacidity to high alkalinity, making them effective throughout the digestive tract, according to the makers of Acid Ease.

     The efficacy of gamma oryzanol, a naturally occurring component of rice bran oil extract, has been evaluated by at least 23 studies, which tested it for benefits on gastrointestinal disorders, such as ulcers, gastritis, nausea, abdominal pain, and heartburn. A Japanese study involving patients at 375 hospitals rated gamma oryzanol 90% effective in reducing gastrointestinal distress; dosages of 300-600 mg daily were given for an average of three weeks to produce these benefits.

     Animal studies show that gamma oryzanol stimulates the autonomic nervous system (which automatically controls heart rate, breathing, and digestion) to normalize gastrin secretion (as regulated by the vagus nerve) in the stomach. The substance can also inhibit the secretion of stomach acid. In other words, gamma oryzanol helps to rebalance this aspect of the nervous system. It also appears to protect the mucosal lining of the stomach against ulcer formation.

Acid Ease's two herbal ingredients are slippery elm and marshmallow. Among traditional herbalists, the inner bark of the slippery elm tree is widely used to soothe irritation of the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines. Marshmallow and slippery elm both contain a large amount of mucilage, a gelatinous substance similar to a plant gum that enables the herbs to produce soothing effects in cases of inflammation and membrane irritation (as in heartburn). Traditional herbalists cite marshmallow's ability to ease inflammation in the alimentary canal.

     Acid Ease users (informally consulted) report that it produces excellent results within 15 to 20 minutes of taking 1-2 capsules for heartburn. In addition, there is a noticeable calming of the nervous system, producing a highly relaxed state.

 

Anticancer Botanicals that Work Supportively with Chemotherapy
Coriolus Versicolor-Over 400 clinical studies published in Japan since the 1970s have shown that a purified extract from the mushroom Coriolus Versicolor has strong benefits to the immune system when given alone or with conventional chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cancer. Known as polysaccharide K, or PSK, by researchers, this mushroom extract was selected as the best out of 200 that were originally screened by Japanese researchers for antitumor activity in 1971.

     Probably the most impressive demonstration of PSK's antitumor function came in 1990 when the results of a ten-year clinical trial involving colon cancer patients were announced. In this Japanese study, 56 patients began taking PSK daily after having undergone surgery for cancer of the colon and rectum. Over a period of 13 years, the patients returned to the administering clinic-six hospitals were involved-about once every three months for evaluation.

According to lead researcher, Motomichi Torisu, M.D., of Kyushu University School of Medicine in Fukuoka, the survival rate of these patients was "significantly higher" than that of the 55 patients in the placebo group. Dr. Torisu also reported that certain crucial immune cells (leukocytes) showed "remarkable enhancement" in their activities, indicating a widespread immune-stimulating benefit. Dr. Torisu described PSK as a useful maintenance therapy for patients recovering from cancer surgery.

Many of the PSK studies from Japan have evaluated its performance as an immune-stimulator when used as an adjunct to various types of chemotherapy or radiation. Based on a ten-year study involving 227 women with operable breast cancer, researchers at the Gunma University School of Medicine in Gunma, Japan, concluded that using PSK as part of an immuno-chemotherapy program (involving five chemotherapy agents) "improved the prognosis of patients" with cancers of this type. It also produced better results than chemotherapy given alone.

     The researchers suggested that PSK seemed to protect the immune system's activity from being suppressed by the chemotherapy drugs and by the toxic processes of the cancer itself. Another ten-year study of 185 patients with lung cancer showed that combining PSK with radiation therapy produced "satisfactory" tumor shrinkage and better survival rates for stage I (39%) and II (22%) cancers compared with 16% and 5%, respectively, for those not receiving this combination.

     Similar benefits were observed in using PSK (this time, alone) with patients with gastrointestinal cancer. In this study, 29 patients with gastric and 18 with colorectal cancer were divided into two groups. Those in the PSK group received 3 g of PSK orally before surgery, either daily or every second day; patients in the control group took no PSK.

     In those receiving PSK for only two weeks, researchers noted a significantly stronger response of the patients' immune cells (lymphocytes), whereas in those patients taking PSK for more than two weeks, the principal benefit seemed to be a strong increase in the cytotoxicity (cancer cell-killing ability) of immune cells. In both cases, it was clear that taking PSK orally produced marked benefits in the immune system's response to cancer.

     PSK has also been used successfully in conjunction with chemotherapy to produce remissions and extend survival time in cases of leukemia. The average length of complete remission for 14 leukemia patients receiving this combination was 36 weeks compared to 25 weeks for patients receiving only chemotherapy. The average survival time from diagnosis for the group receiving the combination was 21 months compared to only 12 for those on chemotherapy alone.

     Finally, a study involving 262 patients with gastric cancer also confirmed PSK's ability to enhance the anticancer effects of chemotherapy drugs. PSK given with chemotherapy improved the five-year disease-free rate (70% compared to 59% in a conventionally treated group).

    According to John Seleen, general manager for JHS Natural Products which markets PSK as Coriolus Versicolor, the product also provides immune-enhancing benefits for AIDS, hepatitis, herpes, general immune suppression, and post-surgical recovery. Seleen notes that a typical daily dosage of 3 g requires taking five Coriolus Versicolor capsules (625 mg each), in divided dosages between morning and evening.

     PC Spes(r)-The name of this new herbal anticancer product means "prostate cancer hope"-Spes is Latin for "hope." It contains eight herbs known to produce benefits to the immune system and, in the case of saw palmetto, to the prostate specifically.

     While PC Spes is a new product and few studies yet exist demonstrating its clinical benefits, early reports from physicians using this herbal formula for prostate cancer are promising. The other herbs in PC Spes, primarily derived from classical Chinese herbology, include chrysanthemum (sedative and antitoxic effects), Isatis indigotica (antibacterial, cools the blood), licorice (anti-inflammatory), Ganoderma lucidum (a mushroom, immunostimulant), pseudo-ginseng (pain relief), rubescens (for tumors), and scute (Scutellaria baicalensis, removes toxins).

     According to prostate cancer survivor James Lewis, Jr., Ph.D., PC Spes may be able to extend the lives of patients with prostate cancer. It may be especially effective in extending life in cases of serious prostate cancer for those patients who have failed to respond to conventional hormone therapy, says Dr. Lewis. As Dr. Lewis explains, chemist Sophie Chen, Ph.D., and colleagues carefully selected organically cultivated herbs known to enhance the immune system, strengthen the activities of the nervous and hormonal systems, and resolve infections and inflammations.

     The exact mechanism by which PC Spes produces anticancer benefits is not yet known, but some physicians are starting to observe its life-extending and hormone-balancing effects in patients with advanced prostate cancer. It's estimated that 90% of prostate cancer patients reach a point when they can no longer tolerate conventional hormone therapy and develop "hormonally refractive disease." As chemotherapy destroys healthy immune cells, many conventional physicians try to avoid this as long as possible, and need some other therapy to "buy" more time for the prostate cancer patient, Dr. Lewis explains.

     In New Guidelines for Surviving Prostate Cancer, Dr. Lewis and coauthor E. Roy Berger, M.D., present case reports showing how PC Spes can help reduce prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels when used in conjunction with conventional cancer treatments.

     Lewis and Berger cite the case of Lyle, aged 74, who, after 42 months of conventional treatment for prostate cancer, still had a PSA of 136. When he took 2,700 mg daily of PC Spes, his PSA dropped to 61. Another patient, aged 52, had fluctuating PSA levels during and after conventional treatment (including radiation and surgery). Four weeks after taking PC Spes daily, his PSA dropped from 40 to 20, then after three more weeks, it dropped to 9.

In general, Lewis and Berger suggest that prostate cancer patients might benefit from using PC Spes in terms of lowering their PSA levels or enhancing the effectiveness of hormone therapy. They caution that PC Spes is not necessarily a viable therapy for all prostate cancer patients and that, until further research is conducted, patients should "avoid using it as a definitive treatment" and consult their physician when combining it with any other supplements.