Commonly used nutritional supplements and body-building agents for elite athletes could pose an increased risk of cancer according to a study undertaken at the University of Sydney.
Research by Professor Peter Lay, Dr Aviva Levina (senior research associate) and Dr Irma Mulyani (PhD student) from Sydney University's Centre for Heavy Metals Research in conjunction with the recently established International Centre for Excellence in sports Science and Management, has shown that widely used chromium nutritional supplements and prescription drugs could lead to an elevated risk of cancer, particularly for heavy users such as elite athletes.
Research published in the most recent issue of the prestigious international chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, shows that the in vitro reactions of the dietary chromium(III) dietary supplements with enzymes result in the formation of the human carcinogen chromium(VI). These results provide strong evidence that the dietary supplements may be converted from chromium(III) into carcinogenic chromium(VI) by our bodies.
The project, which was funded by the Australian Research Council, also developed a novel explanation for the mechanism by which Cr is involved in glucose metabolism and anti-diabetic effects, which also supported the proposal that carcinogenic chromium(VI) is generated in the body from the dietary supplements. Identifying these process has become all the more important as the special complexes of chromium(III) demonstrate an insulin-intensifying effect, and are therefore currently under consideration as potential drugs for diabetes.
Under normal metabolic processes, a range of enzymes produce common oxidants, such as hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite. The team demonstrated that these biological oxidants convert harmless chromium(III) supplements to chromium(VI) in vitro, either directly or when generated in situ by the enzymes.'