The Watercress Alliance (comprising Hampshire & Dorset companies, Vitacress Salads, Alresford Salads and The Watercress Company) has announced a new £100k research study investigating watercress’s anti-cancer potential in relation to breast cancer. The clinical trial will be led by Professor Graham Packham, Cancer Research UK Professor of Molecular Oncology at the University of Southampton and overseen by Dr R Rainsbury, Director of the Breast Unit at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester and Andover. 
 
The study, which aims to identify watercress’s ability to suppress breast cancer cell development, will be undertaken in two phases. The first phase aims to determine the blood plasma levels of watercress-derived compounds in 12 female volunteers. The women will each ingest 80g of watercress and provide blood samples at specific time points which will then be analysed for chemical compounds derived from watercress known to be active versus cancer. In phase two, breast cancer cells will be exposed to watercress extracts that mimic concentrations found in the blood and monitored to investigate the effect on specific molecular pathways which have been selected for their importance for the growth and survival of breast cancer cells.

The project, which aims to complete in October 2009, follows research, carried out by the University of Ulster, Coleraine, and published in February 2007 which found that watercress increased the ability of cells to resist DNA damage caused by free radicals and that a daily diet of watercress significantly reduced levels of DNA damage found in blood cells. DNA damage is considered to be an important trigger in the early stages of cancer.  For more information visit http://www.watercress.co.uk/.

You can get to the festival by car, train or even historic railway! Get directions here.

For more information, please contact the festival using the online form and we will get back to you as soon as we can.