Sabinsa has added a new product to its list of standardized botanicals and fine chemicals, Indole-3-carbinol, a compound which occurs naturally In cruciferous vegetables. Indole-3-carbinol will be manufactured at Sabinsa's pilot plant in Princeton, New Jersey.

Indole-3-carbinol is found in cabbage, broccoli and brussels sprouts and has been shown in pre-clinical experiments to be a promising anti-cancer nutrient. This fact may justify well published clinical evidence that eating cruciferous vegetables prevents various forms of cancer in humans.

A considerable body of pre-clinical evidence has been accumulated on the efficacy of Indole-3-carbinol in the prevention and intervention of direct and indirect acting carcinogens in the development of breast tumors in rodents.

In addition to its potential with breast carcinoma, Indole-3-carbinol was successfully used in experiments involving gastrointestinal and lung cancers. It also shows potential in cardiovascular health, since it lowered total cholesterol, LDL and VLDL in hypercholestrolemic rodents by inhibiting the cholesterol converting enzyme acyl-CoA: cholesterol acyltransferase.

Indole-3-carbinol emerges as a distinct anti-cancer nutritional compound which differs in mechanism from other cancer fighting nutrients such as green and black tea. It therefore is a versatile, nutrition-derived protector against cancer which can be used alone or in combination with other similar nutrients.