Beer cures

Japanese scientists have learned that beer may inhibit the carcinogen: tryptophan pyrolysate product no-2, a heterocyclic amine, produced by burning meat, fish or tobacco leaves. This was reported by a team led by Hikoya Hayatsu, a professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Okayama University, in the annual meeting of the Japanese Cancer Association. Beer was known to contain polyphenolic compounds that inhibit mutagenesis, but it proved to be a far better inhibitor of mutagenesis than the compounds alone. The other compound(s) in beer are being vigorously pursued by scientists with an idea to test them against other carcinogens ( Science , Vol 274, No 5291).