The LPI Micronutrient Information Center Expands

The LPI Micronutrient Information Center (MIC) is an online resource for scientifically accurate, up-to-date, and peer-reviewed information on micronutrients, phytochemicals—plant chemicals that may affect human health—and other constituents of the diet. Established in 2000, the MIC features sections on:

• 13 vitamins
• 14 minerals of special nutritional interest
• other nutrients, including L-carnitine, choline, coenzyme Q10, omega-3 fatty acids, and alpha-lipoic acid
• foods, including fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, whole grains, tea, and alcoholic beverages, with a special article on glycemic index
• phytochemicals, including chlorophylls, lignans, soy isoflavones, tea flavonoids, and carotenoids like beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein

The articles on fiber, glycemic index, phytoestrogens (lignans and soy isoflavones), and chlorophylls have been recently posted. As always, human research is emphasized when available. The MIC is searchable by keywords and also features a nutrient index and a disease index, which allows one to find specific information on substances related to the prevention and/or treatment of a number of diseases and conditions. You can access the MIC here. The information on vitamins and minerals has been collected by its author, Dr. Jane Higdon, into a book, An Evidence-based Approach to Vitamins and Minerals: Health Benefits and Intake Recommendations, which is available from the publisher, Thieme Medical Publishers (http://www.thieme.com), bookstores, and LPI.

New role proposed for Pauling and Corey’s protein structure

Linus Pauling and his colleague, Robert Corey, co-authored a revolutionary series of papers on protein structure that were published in 1951 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA and referred to by its editor as “the scientifically most distinguished of the first fifty volumes.” This groundbreaking achievement was especially important because many scientists at the time believed that the genetic information resided in proteins and that proteins were too large and complicated for their underlying structures to be understood. Pauling and Corey’s initial papers presented the alpha-helix as a major structural theme of proteins, which provided a basis for the eventual solution of the helical structure of DNA.Their subsequent papers elucidated the structure of keratin found in hair, muscle, and feathers; of silk; and of collagen and gelatin. Much earlier, in 1935, Pauling and another colleague, Alfred Mirsky, provided an explanation of protein denaturation, or unfolding, based on their knowledge of hydrogen bonds.

A new paper by scientists at the University of Washington, also published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, proposes that another, rarer protein structure postulated by Pauling and Corey, the pleated sheet, may be involved in the assembly of the abnormal amyloid proteins found in Alzheimer’s disease, amyloidosis, and prion diseases like Creutzfeld-Jakob disease and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as mad cow disease.

New Pilot Project Awards

The LPI Pilot Project Award program recognizes innovative research projects by Oregon State University scientists that are relevant to the mission of the Institute. These $20,000, one-year awards, made possible through support by LPI donors, enable investigators to develop new results that can be used to support research grant applications to federal funding agencies for more extensive projects.

Three awards were made in 2004. Dr. James Myers, Professor of Horticulture, together with his graduate student, Peter Mes, will investigate “Carotenoid antioxidant capacity: determining the effect of tomatoes in humans.” Dr. Gita Cherian, Assistant Professor of Animal Sciences, will conduct an “Evaluation of conjugated linoleic acid-rich chicken eggs as a functional food.” Dr. Rhian Cope, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, will determine the role of “Chlorophyllin and indole-3-carbinol in UV-induced skin carcinogenesis and immunosuppression.” Look for articles on these projects in future LPI Research Reports.

Cancer and Vitamin C still available from LPI!

Cancer and Vitamin C, co-authored by Dr. Linus Pauling and his long-term medical collaborator, Dr. Ewan Cameron, is still in print. First published in 1979, the current edition was updated and expanded in 1993 with a new preface by Linus Pauling and an appendix that discusses Dr. Abram Hoffer’s micronutrient regimen developed as adjunctive therapy for cancer. Cancer and Vitamin C provides a discussion of the nature, causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer with special reference to the value of vitamin C.

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health recently called for a re-evaluation of cancer and vitamin C, especially when the vitamin is administered intravenously, which results in blood concentrations more than ten times greater than those achieved with oral supplementation. Such high concentrations have been found in cell culture studies to be preferentially toxic to cancer cells. The NIH researchers believe that the widely publicized controlled trials of vitamin C and cancer at the Mayo Clinic may have failed because the vitamin was given only orally, whereas Dr. Cameron typically gave high-dose intravenous vitamin C to terminal cancer patients and observed some benefit, ranging from an increased sense of well-being to prolonged survival times. The published clinical trials of vitamin C and cancer suffer from flawed methodology, and it is important to conduct rigorous controlled trials that take into account new knowledge about the pharmacokinetics of vitamin C.

The 278-page paperback, Cancer and Vitamin C, is available from LPI for $14.95, including postage in the U.S. Linus Pauling’s classic best seller, How to Live Longer and Feel Better, is also available for $10.95. To order, please visit the LPI website at or contact us at 541-737-5075 or by mail at Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, 571 Weniger Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331.

The new Linus Pauling Middle School in Corvallis, Oregon, opened in September. The School Board chose to honor Oregon native and OSU alumnus Linus Pauling for his unsurpassed contributions to science, medicine, and human welfare. The school auditorium is named in honor of Linus Pauling’s wife, Ava Helen Pauling. Recognizing the obesity trend in youngsters, the cafeteria emphasizes nutritious food. The new school is home to 660 students in grades 6-8 and has a prominent display of Pauling’s books and memorabilia, donated by OSU’s Special Collections.