Natural Is Not Neutral: Dangers of Natural Compounds Found in Produce and Dietary Supplements and Therapeutic Mechanisms of Flavone Luteolin on Neuroblastoma and Lymphoma
ISEF · 2022 Biomedical and Health Sciences
Overview
One may be surprised to learn that the same ingredient, luteolin, is in a huge scope of supplements. Luteolin is the primary ingredient in therapeutic, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunity, muscle strength supplements, etc. Many of these supplements claim to prevent cancer. I aimed to investigate whether luteolin can have such a broad range of benefits, which is crucial for public health/safety since supplement consumption and trust in supplements are at a record high with a rise in >103 countries. Though labeled as natural, it is hard to tell how natural supplements truly are due to the lack of regulation. In Europe, supplements are held to a lower standard than drugs and in the US, supplement potency/purity are not cleared by the FDA and it is voluntary for companies to report adverse effects. So, it is vital to understand how supplements work. Research suggests that luteolin is therapeutic for leukemia and that various flavonoids used together are ideal, alluding to the notion that using multiple flavone-based supplements is supreme. I explored neuroblastoma and lymphoma through cellular assays, organoid models, flavone combinations, and to qualify the mechanisms, I used data science and molecular models in PyRx. Results indicate that luteolin does have therapeutic effects on both cancers likely via mitochondrial matrix 1; however, certain concentrations have adverse effects. Dose-dependency and combinations are not ideal. Multifaceted results combined with how 85% of labels do not contain the maximum dose nor dosage amount of each ingredient and how people tend to ignore disclaimers are calls to action to advocate for reform in the supplement industry and understand that natural does not mean neutral: caution and proactivity are imperative.
Competition history
- ISEF 2022
Resources
Related projects
ISEF · 2024
Novel Complementary and Alternative Medicines to Mollify Long COVID and Post-COVID Conditions Studied Using Controlled Environment Agriculture
ISEF · 2014
Anticarcinogenic Potential of Nutraceutical Supplement Soybean Based Quantified with High Rates of Genistein and Daidzein
ISEF · 2017
Harnessing Anti-Inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Potentials from Nature for Cancer Therapy
ISEF · 2015
Inhibition of Mutation in S. typhimurium and Cell Division in Allium cepa by Zyflamend, C. longa, Z. officinale, A. indica, and M. citrifolia and Possible Implications in Cancer Prevention
Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.
Source: Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair