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Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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03.12.2010 |
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Safflower seed compound as anti-estrogenic as Nolvadex
The seeds of the safflower – scientific name Carthamus tinctorius – contain a lignan that blocks the effect of estradiol in cells as effectively as Nolvadex does, according to pharmacologists at Seoul National University.
Long-term use of Nolvadex [used to treat breast cancer] increases the risk of ovarian cancer in women. The Koreans are looking for alternatives to Nolvadex in the plant world. In their article they describe how they bought safflower seed [see picture here of the flower] in a shop, and isolated various compounds that they then tested for anti-estrogenic effects.
The figure below shows how the Koreans discovered that one of the safflower seed extracts wipes out the effect of estradiol.
The compound that does this is tracheloside, a lignan. The substance itself does nothing to estradiol-sensitive cells. But if you add 2 nanomols estradiol to the cells, then tracheloside reduces the effect of the hormone. The more tracheloside, the less effect the estradiol has, as the figure above shows.
The anti-estrogenic effect of tracheloside is comparable to that of Nolvadex. At a concentration of 0.31 microg/ml, half of the estradiol effect disappears. Nolvadex has the same effect at a concentration of 0.43 microg/ml.
Whether the human body is capable of deactivating estradiol by taking tracheloside, the researchers are not prepared to say. Their doubts are based on what is known about arctiin, a compound related to tracheloside.
Tracheloside is an ingredient in the bodybuilding supplement Arimedex HD. You’d be forgiven for thinking tracheloside is a difficult name. That’s why the manufacturers prefer to call it (3s, 4s)-4-[(3, 4- dimethoxyphenyl)methyl] -3-hydroxy-3-[[3-methoxy-4- [(2s,3r, 4s,5r,6r) -3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl) oxan-2-yl]oxy-phenyl]methyl] oxolan-2-one. Plain old…, you understand.
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