Modified Wheat Seen as Weapon in Fighting Colon Cancer

Whole grain wheat may be the next weapon in fighting colon cancer, according to researchers at Kansas State University.

New research is showing that wheat contains powerful antioxidants that are associated with the prevention of colon cancer, and possibly diabetes and heart disease.

"In the past, we thought the fiber in wheat prevented cancer," said Dolores Takemoto, biochemist at KSU. "This discovery shows that there are antioxidants, in addition to fiber, which are responsible for preventing cancer."

Researchers are hopeful that they will be able to create modified wheat strains with high levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants.

"We hope we will be able to create a genetically modified plant," said Takemoto. "We won't be modifying it to adapt to its environment, like most genetically modified plants, but we will be modifying it to produce more of its own cancer-fighting chemicals. We want to produce for the Kansas community strains of wheat that are nutraceuticals, which are higher quality grains that have enhanced amounts of these antioxidants in them."

Other Sources: Kansas State University