CONJUGATED LINOLEIC-ACID - A POWERFUL ANTICARCINOGEN FROM ANIMAL FAT SOURCES

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a mixture of positional and geometri c isomers of linoleic acid, which is found preferentially in dairy pro ducts and meat. Preliminary studies indicate that CLA is a powerful an ticarcinogen in the rat mammary tumor model with an effective range of 0.1-1% in the diet. This protective effect of CLA is noted even when exposure is limited to the time of weaning to carcinogen administratio n. The timing of this treatment corresponds to maturation of the mamma ry gland to the adult stage, suggesting that CLA may have a direct eff ect in reducing the cancer risk of the target organ. Of the vast numbe r of naturally occurring substances that have been demonstrated to hav e anticarcinogenic activity in experimental models, all but a handful of them are of plant origin. Conjugated linoleic acid is unique becaus e it is present in food from animal sources, and its anticancer effica cy is expressed at concentrations close to human consumption levels.