Nov 5 : Common dietary molecules found in legumes and bran may offer protection against radiation, a new study says.

During tests conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Maryland, two such molecules - inositol and inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) - protected both human skin cells and a skin cancer-prone mouse from exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation.

The team’s findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Centennial Conference on Translational Cancer Medicine here Sunday.

The two molecules help decrease the side-effects from radiation therapy, saving healthy cells while simultaneously increasing the potency of the treatment against cancer cells, the researchers said.

“Both of these potent antioxidants have been shown to have broad-spectrum anti-tumour capabilities, and now our studies confirm the degree to which these molecules protect against the DNA-damaging effects of ionising radiation,” said leader of the research team Abulkalam M. Shamsuddin.

“Radiation damage is radiation damage, regardless of the source, so there could also be a protective role for IP6 in any form of radiation exposure, whether it is from a therapeutic dose or from solar, cosmic or nuclear sources,” he added.

Shamsuddin and his team found that when mice engineered to be prone to skin cancer were given water containing a two percent solution of IP6, they were much less likely to develop tumours.

According to Shamsuddin, IP6 could also offer protection during a nuclear disaster or attack. “It could also be advisable to use IP6 plus inositol as a cautionary treatment following a nuclear disaster or dirty bomb,” he said.(IANS)