Dr. Dolores Takemoto's laboratory

"Anti-oxidants, which neutralize destructive free-radicals, are important cancer preventative agents. My lab is currently working on identifying the specific anti-oxidants present in wheat. We have identified a class of compounds called orthophenols which are high in wheat samples that prevent cancer. When fed to mice these varieties of wheat prevented colon and intestinal cancer. We are currently working to identify the metabolic pathways involved in the synthesis of these compounds. Future work will entail genetic modulation of wheat varieties and identification of new wheat varieties which produce high orthophenol levels."