Dr. Alfredo Galvez

Renowned research scientist at the Center of Excellence in Nutritional Genomics at UC Davis and lead scientific advisor at SL Technologies, a Reliv subsidiary. Dr. Galvez first discovered lunasin in 1996 during research at UC Berkley to improve the nutritional profile of soy protein. Dr. Galvez serendipitously discovered the anti-cancer properties of the lunasin peptide, while working as a postdoctoral researcher on a project to increase the methionine content of soy protein at UC Berkeley in the late 1990's.

Lunasin was first investigated as a factor that might prevent cancer cells from dividing and multiplying. Dr. Galvez made his initial discoveries as part of Professor De Lumen's team at UC Berkeley. He discovered that the soy protein "lunacin" could prevent normal cells from becoming cancerous. He says "I immediately knew it would have some practical effect for the health benefit of man-kind." In addition, unlike other cancer preventive agents, while killing off potentially cancerous cells, the peptide poses no detriment to neighboring healthy cells. It even significantly reduces the risk of those cells becoming cancerous as well. Their team called it Lunasin, after the Filipino word “lunas” which means “cure.” 

More than 40 peer-reviewed and published studies have affirmed the health benefits of Lunasin ever since its discovery (“Lunasin Research,” 2011). This discovery has contributed greatly in the search for more natural and accessible cancer prevention methods and has definitely brought pride to the Filipino people. The mechanism of action for Lunasin and cancer prevention was included in prestigious journals, such as Nature Biotechnology and the Journal of Cancer Research. As Dr. Galvez continued to study Lunasin, it became evident that the soy peptide had another powerful mechanism of action– lowering cholesterol. 

While soy has long been linked to heart health, recent studies indicate that protection of the lunasin peptide component so that sufficient amounts are bioavailable once inside the body is the key to its ability to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Dr Galvez says "since it comes form a natural source, it's already considered safe by the FDA. Although Lunasin was first recognized as a key factor for stopping cancer cells from replicating, further studies showed that the soy peptide also had another powerful property—sufficient amounts of lunasin peptide in one’s system can effectively lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.

The FDA had previously approved soy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.  In 2012 lunasin researcher Alfredo Galvez identified that lunasin was the aspect of soy protein responsible for this medical application. The American Heart Association has endorsed the benefits of lunasin and published Dr Galvez’s research. (sourced from Lunasin.com and Wikipedia.org)

Studies have shown evidence that lunasin has cholesterol-lowering properties. Longer term associations between the eating of soy beans and soy products, and the lowering of cholesterol, have been attributed to lunasin. The process by which lunasin lowers cholesterol, is the inhibition of enzymes present in the liver, by reducing the gene expression for HMG-CoA reductase. Lunasin also has been shown to increase the transcription of LDL receptor mRNA, which allows better passage of plasma LDL cholesterol.

The lower incidence of breast cancer among Asian women compared with Western countries has been partly attributed to soy in the Asian diet, leading to efforts to identify the bioactive components that are responsible. Soy Bowman Birk Inhibitor Concentrate (BBIC) is a known cancer preventive agent now in human clinical trials. Methodology/Principal Findings: The objectives of this work are to establish the presence and delineate the in vitro activity of lunasin.