New research published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) has powerful immune boosting properties. The study uses human blood samples to demonstrate the ability of a specific form of Modified Citrus Pectin to very significantly induce and enhance the benefits of T-cytotoxic cells and human Natural Killer (NK) cells. The NK-cell's cancer killing activity was demonstrated in live leukemia cancer cells, uncovering yet another mechanism of MCP's powerful anti-cancer actions. Immune researchers at the Dharma Biomedical LLC (Miami, FL) and the Department of Pathology at Miami Children's Hospital are excited. "The Modified Citrus Pectin we researched has potential for altering the course of certain viral diseases such as the common cold or other upper respiratory tract viral infections based on the mechanisms of action that were observed in this study," says lead researcher Steve Melnick. He continues, "We also found that MCP significantly outperformed other known immune enhancing agents such as medicinal mushrooms." The study includes an analysis performed by the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) that suggests the unique structural components of the MCP induced the selective response in the immune cell subsets.

MCP's Multiple Cancer-Fighting Properties

This significant increase in T-cytotoxic and NK-cell activation, together with a remarkable increase in NK-cells' ability to identify and destroy human leukemia cells, demonstrate that the tested MCP is a powerful immune-enhancing agent. Specifically, this study highlights MCP's ability to selectively increase cytotoxic immune activity against cancer and infections. With this new data on Modified Citrus Pectin’s powerful immune effects, together with the extensive research on its ability to block cancer-promoting galectin-3 molecules, we now have a much greater understanding of MCP's extensive benefits in fighting and protecting against cancer.

Ongoing Research Explains MCP's Numerous Health Benefits

As an holistic physician focused on treating cancer and chronic illness, I have been using MCP in my clinical practice for over 15 years. Because Modified Citrus Pectin safely and powerfully addresses so many serious health concerns, it is an ideal tool in integrative medicine. This is particularly true for integrative cancer therapy, where the disease must be attacked simultaneously from multiple angles. By blocking galectin-3′s cancer-promoting effects, reducing inflammation, chelating heavy metals, and — as we now know – providing powerful selective immune benefits including active NK cell induction, MCP is quickly becoming known as one of the most important nutrients in the fight against cancer and other serious health conditions.

Source: Ramachandran, C., Wilk, B.J., Hotchkiss, A., Chau, H., Eliaz, I., Melnick, S.J. Activation of Human T-Helper/Inducer Cell, T-Cytotoxic Cell, B-Cell, and Natural Killer (NK)-Cells and induction of Natural Killer Cell Activity against K562 Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells with Modified Citrus Pectin. BMC Complem. Altern. Med.2011, 11:59.