The science of Epigenetics
Epigenetic Revolution in Health and Nutrition – Alfredo F. Galvez, Ph.D.
Epigenetics is changing the way we look at the role of genes in preventing and treating non-communicable degenerative chronic diseases. Though it is currently revolutionizing biology, many people including medical professionals, are not aware of the power of epigenetics. By extension, epigenetics will also change the way we view medicine and pharmaceutical drugs.
It will also undoubtedly influence the role of nutrition and how nutrition plays in healthcare today and in the future.
The emerging role of dietary nutrients in modulating epigenetic mechanisms that lead to changes in gene expression is causing a paradigm shift in nutrition research. Lunasin is the first dietary example of an epigenetic factor with this novel mechanism of action. What makes Lunasin unique is that it actually binds to the histone tails. Histones serve as the “packaging material” for DNA and modifications to the histone tails by lunasin binding can cause changes in gene expression that eventually lead to favorable health outcomes.
The Effects of Lunasin on Cancer
Ultimately, Galvez found that Lunasin inhibits the expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and tumor formation. Some of the genes that can be turned off include the Rasoncogene, which is found in 45 percent of all cancers. It also increases the expression of genes associated with tumor suppression, apoptosis, mitotic control and DNA repair.
The methods to produce soy protein actually contain the Lunasin peptide; but once it is eaten, it becomes inactivated. Researchers identified the best varieties of soybeans and came up with manufacturing protocols to produce LunaRich soy powder that has increased amount of bioactive Lunasin that was one to six times the levels found in the industry standard.
Because they had the Lunasin bioactivity assay, researchers were also able to conduct different extraction protocols on a lab scale, pilot scale and commercial scale. This led to the development of the LunaRich X formula. LunaRich X contains a more concentrated form of bioactive Lunasin and is protected when it is digested and even becomes more bioactive in this process. It contains approximately 200 times more bioactive Lunasin than the industry standard.
The development of LunaRich X allowed researchers to conduct experiments to determine whether Lunasin is definitively the active ingredient in soy protein responsible for cholesterol lowering. This will be significant because a meta-analysis done in 1995, led to the approval of an FDA health claim for soy protein. This study showed that consuming 25 grams of soy protein compared to 25 grams of casein protein, or milk proteins led to a 12.5 percent reduction in LDL cholesterol.
The problem is that in 1999, when the FDA health claim was approved, soy protein producers started to look at ways to increase soy protein content in the soy protein preparations. When they did this, thinking the soy protein was the active ingredient, most of the Lunasin peptide gets inactivated when ingested. In 2006, another meta-analysis was done on all human clinical trials that were done after the FDA health claim was approved. Through this study it was discovered that the subject would now need to consume 50 grams of soy protein to get a 3 percent reduction in LDL cholesterol. This has to do with the reduction of bioactive Lunasin in these soy protein preparation researchers looked at five pigs and tested for biomarkers associated with health. A significant biomarker affected by LunaRich X and Reliv NOW was free fatty acid levels, which were reduced by 65 percent. This is significant because elevated free fatty acids cause insulin resistance and inflammation that can lead to Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
This combination treatment also affected the pig’s weight gain. At 6 weeks when there was maximal eptin and adiponectin levels, the pigs did not gain any weight, but started to gain weight again when the treatments were stopped.
On the Market
LunaRich X was released to the public in January of 2013. Since then, many have reported health benefits. One of the most notable results have to do with diabetic edema. Typically, with diabetic edema, the macula is swollen because it is full of fluids. This often causes blindness. Figure 17 shows the outcomes of a particular diabetic patient. This 21 year-old had Type 1 diabetes, with diabetic edema that caused blindness. The swelling of the macula was thick. Standard treatments would use an injection of anti-angiogenesis drugs to address this issue. Cancer drugs like Avastin are typically injected directly into the macula to treat the problem. But it can take from six months to more than a year of monthly injections to see any effects in the reduction of the macular edema.In this case, Reliv Now, LunaRich X and Glucaffect, the supplement for diabetics, was administered. Within one month, the issue had cleared.
Conclusion
Lunasin has a conserved and integral role in seed development in nature. It helps with the cell enlargement process that is necessary for developing seeds to store more nutrients for the developing embryo. It does this by binding to histone tails and preventing seed storage cell division after DNA replication. The fact that the histone tails in our bodies are the same as those in plants demonstrates how Lunasin could effectively integrate into our biology. And because the body has co-evolved with the Lunasin peptide, it is able to determine which genes to turn on and which genes to turn off in the human genome. Combining Lunasin with healthy environment and lifestyle choices has been shown to improve the effects of this peptide against non-communicative, degenerative chronic diseases. Its unique mechanism of action makes the Lunasin peptide unlike other cancer treatment options because it is able to fully integrate and adapt within the body. Though more long-term research is still being conducted on Lunasin, it is evident that this peptide could have a monumental impact on cancer and chronic disease treatment in the coming years.
