The study confirmed for the first time that daffodils have antitumor activity

The study confirmed for the first time that daffodils have antitumor activity

March 1, 2018 Source: CPhI Pharma Online Author: The red leaf

The researchers found that alkaloids extracted from daffodils have a strong anti-cancer effect, and this compound activates an anti-tumor surveillance pathway, a study published in the famous scientific journal Structure.

Malignant tumors have become the second leading cause of death in China after cardiovascular disease. In 2008, the World Health Organization ranked China and the United States as two of the world's top cancer-prone countries. Although the international medical community has developed hundreds of anti-cancer drugs, cancer has so far been considered a highly incurable disease with high mortality.

For more than half a century since the 1960s, pharmaceutical researchers at home and abroad have developed and marketed a number of plant-derived anticancer drugs, including the vinblastine series, paclitaxel, and camptothecin series. The overall rise of new plant anticancer drugs has brought tumor chemotherapy into a new era.

Recently, a group of researchers led by Denis Lafortaine of the Department of Science at the Free University of Brussels (ULB) in Belgium found that alkaloids extracted from daffodils have a strong anticancer effect, and this compound activates an anti-tumor surveillance pathway. The study was published in the famous science journal Structure.

The natural anticancer compound extracted by the researchers led by Denis Lofontaine from Daffodil (Amaryllidaceae) is an alkaloid belonging to the tennis muscarin that binds to ribosomes. Ribosomes are the 'nanomachines' that our cells need to survive because they are responsible for synthesizing all the proteins in our body. Cancer cells rely on enhanced protein synthesis to support their unrestricted growth, so cancer cells are particularly sensitive to therapies that inhibit the synthesis and function of ribosomes.

In this new study, researchers found that tennis sulphate blocks protein synthesis in ribosomes, slowing the growth of cancer cells. Tennis muscarine also inhibits the formation of nucleosomes in the nucleolus ('ribosomal plant'): this nucleolar stress triggers activation of an anti-tumor surveillance pathway leading to stabilization of p53 protein and inactivation of cancer cells.

Daffodils have been used in folk medicine for hundreds of years. This study is the first to provide a molecular level explanation for the antitumor activity of daffodils. Tennis saponin belongs to a large family of drug molecules of natural origin: a variety of alkaloids for human health are extracted from plants, such as morphine (potent analgesics), quinine (antimalarials), and ephedra Alkali (anti-asthma).

Denis Lafontaine's team will soon work with Veronique Mathieu (ULB School of Pharmacy) to test the effects of four Amaryllidaceae alkaloids on the biosynthesis and function of ribosomes, which are representative of the chemical diversity of such molecules. Their goal is to quickly identify the most promising chemical backbone for further development as a lead compound for cancer treatment.

As a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Lycoris has the characteristics of wide distribution and abundant resources. Lycoris is rich in a large number of alkaloids. With the deepening of the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Lycoris alkaloids in recent years. Studies have shown that the types and quantities of alkaloids are increasing and the pharmacological effects are continuously enriched. However, the research on the chemical constituents of most alkaloids in Lycoris is still in its infancy, and the mechanism of pharmacological action is still unclear.

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