Diet play a key role in controlling the life threatening disease cancer as per epidemiological and research data. Cancer is a complex disease, characterized by uncontrolled growth & proliferation, local tissue invasion and distant metastasis. Several causative factors such as free radicals significantly contribute to the initiation of cancer disease. Although several researchers have contributed towards antioxidant and it"s role in cancer prevention it has certain limitations where, antioxidants cannot arrest or prevent cancer spread. Indeed cancer spread stage is the stage at which the disease is diagnosed. Hence anticancer spread agents are required for effective cancer cure. During this investigation a pectic polysaccharide molecule from dietary source - Decalepis hamiltonii (Swallow root) - SRPP containing enriched amount of specific sugars - galactose and arabinose, found to inhibit the cancer cell specific galectin induced agglutination of normal red blood cells with an effective concentration of Ice ~ 0.185fj.g. Thus this pectic polysaccharide has been designated as "galectin inhibitory antiinetastatic polysaccharide" and showed activity 4 & 16 fold higher than lactose and galactose respectively. Further, SRPP fractions were purified, isolated and structure - function relationship is established. It is the first report from India and showed a better antimetastatic potential than the only reported dietary source - citrus pectin from National Institute of Health, USA. In USA, this compound is already in the market and is being employed for effective inhibition of cancer spread.
