for all the Hawaiian members--antimetastatic activity assoctd w taro

[Lani]

for those on the mainland-- I believe some Wholefood stores carry Taro burgers

Anticancer Drugs. 2011 Sep 20. [Epub ahead of print]
Antimetastatic activity isolated from Colocasia esculenta (taro).
Kundu N, Campbell P, Hampton B, Lin CY, Ma X, Ambulos N, Zhao XF, Goloubeva O, Holt D, Fulton AM.
Source
aMarlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center bDepartment of Pathology cSOM Genomics Core Facility dSOM Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases, University of Maryland School of Medicine eBaltimore Veteran's Administration Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
Breast cancer mortality is primarily due to the occurrence of metastatic disease. We have identified a novel potential therapeutic agent derived from an edible root of the plant Colocasia esculenta, commonly known as taro, which has demonstrable activity in a preclinical model of metastatic breast cancer and that should have minimal toxicity. We have shown for the first time that a water-soluble extract of taro (TE) potently inhibits lung-colonizing ability and spontaneous metastasis from mammary gland-implanted tumors, in a murine model of highly metastatic estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and Her-2/neu-negative breast cancer. TE modestly inhibits the proliferation of some, but not all, breast and prostate cancer cell lines. Morphological changes including cell rounding were observed. Tumor cell migration was completely blocked by TE. TE treatment also inhibited prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis and downregulated cyclooxygenase 1 and 2 mRNA expression. We purified the active compound(s) to near homogeneity with antimetastatic activity comparable with stock TE. The active compound with a native size of approximately 25 kDa contains two fragments of nearly equal size. The N-terminal amino acid sequencing of both fragments reveals that the active compound is highly related to three taro proteins: 12-kDa storage protein, tarin and taro lectin. All are similar in terms of amino acid sequence, posttranslational processing and all contain a carbohydrate-binding domain. This is the first report describing compound(s) derived from taro that potently and specifically inhibits tumor metastasis.

PMID: 21934603 [PubM

[ElaineM]

Maybe I should put bag of poi (taro) on the shopping list.

[Lani]

ever try taro burgers? Made in Maui, I googled them and they may even be stocked in some Whole Foods stores in California

[hutchibk]

I eat taro every couple of months at a favorite veggie restaurant in a favorite stirfry! I need to learn how to cook it myself and eat it more often...

[ElaineM]

Taro in stir fry sounds good to me. I also decided to see if the Maui Taro Burgers are available at one of my favorite health food stores on Oahu. The managers of both stores I called told me they are out of production.
I never give up easily, so I just e-mailed Maui Taro Company and requested information. Let's hope the company did not close completely. The website had some nice taro recipes and a listing of the ingredients in the Maui Taro Burgers, so if you can get some nice taro you might be able to assemble your own Maui Taro Burgers. I will try that if the burgers are no longer available.
http://hawaiitaro.com/index.html

[Jackie07]

Out of curiosity, I looked up the word and found out it is something quite common in Taiwan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro We used to buy taro 'cake' from 'mobile' stands by the road side on our way home from school.

When the roots are in season, Mother would cook them - either steam or make a soup. If she felt energetic enough she would boil them before making some fried snacks/dishes out of meshed taro.

It has a light sweet taste to it. The salty taro cake is a popular Taiwanese snack.

[Pray]

Hi Brenda,

I don't suppose you remember the name of that veg. stirfry dish with taro in it? If so, could you send it to me please?

Your Friend,

Nancy

[ElaineM]

Thanks for reminding me about the taro cakes Jackie. There is a Japanese bakery here that makes the Japanese version of them. I must get a small one the next time I go there to buy bread. I am also going to see if I can get taro from the supermarket or health food store today.

[Rich66]

potently inhibits lung-colonizing ability and spontaneous metastasis from mammary gland-implanted tumors, in a murine model of highly metastatic estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and Her-2/neu-negative breast cancer. TE modestly inhibits the proliferation of some, but not all, breast and prostate cancer cell lines

.

This seems potentially important to triple negative. I'd love to know what happens if applied to Her2+, ER+ or ER/Her2 + cells.