Calcium D-glucarate

Calcium D-glucarate: What does it do?

is the calcium salt of D-glucaric acid, a natural substance found in many fruits and vegetables.

has been shown to inhibit beta-glucuronidase, an enzyme found in certain bacteria that reside in the gut. One of the key ways in which the body eliminates toxic chemicals as well as hormones such as estrogen is by attaching glucuronic acid to them in the liver and then excreting this complex in the bile. Beta-glucuronidase is a bacterial enzyme that uncouples (breaks) the bond between the excreted compound and glucuronic acid. When beta-glucuronidase breaks the bond, the hormone or toxic chemical that is released is available to be reabsorbed into the body instead of being excreted. An elevated beta-glucuronidase activity is associated with an increased risk for various cancers, particularly hormone-dependent cancers like breast, prostate, and colon cancers.¹

Studies in animals have shown that supplementing with calcium D-glucarate prevents the development of experimentally induced cancers.^{2 3 4 5} The amount of calcium D-glucarate used in these studies, however, would be too much for humans to take. Researchers at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and other major cancer centers began conducting research with calcium D-glucarate for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.^{6 7} No human studies showing the efficacy or safety of calcium D-glucarate have been published.