S-Allylmercaptocysteines (CySSR) act synergistically with sodium selenite to mediate apoptosis in breast cancer cells.
The major CySSRs derived from onion and garlic are similarly potent, but act preferentially on different cellular targets.
The proposed mechanism is that cells import and reduce CySSR, then export thiols to reduce selenite to the cytotoxic H2Se.