Combination of spice and anti-nausea drug kills cancer cells

A combination made on the basis of the spice turmeric and anti-nausea drug thalidomide is able to kill cancer cells. This is what the study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA.

The therapy uses hybrid molecules created from the two ingredients which can attack and eliminate cells of multiple myeloma.

Thalidomide was first introduced in the 1950s as an anti-nausea medication to help control morning sickness, but after it was pulled from the shelves in 1962 because he was accused of causing birth defects.

In the late 1990s, the drug was reintroduced as a stand-alone treatment or combined for multiple myeloma.

Saffron, old spice grown in India and other tropical regions of Asia, has a long history of use as medicine, and recently their ingredient curcumin has been studied as a way to prevent and treat cancer, arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.

"Although thalidomide disturb the microenvironment of tumor cells in the bone marrow, it disintegrates in the body. Curcumin also active against cancer is limited by its poor solubility in water. However, the combination of thalidomide and hybrid molecules curcumin increases both cytotoxicity as solubility, "said study leader, Zhang Shijun.

Compared with multi-drug mixture, hybrid molecules created can provide certain advantages.

According to the researchers, they have greater power, reducing the risk of developing drug resistance, improved pharmacokinetic properties, as well as reducing costs and improving patient compliance.

The hybrid molecules of saffron and thalidomide created over 15 compounds, each with a different effect. Scientists have found that compounds 5 and 7 showed higher cell toxicity compared to curcumin alone or the combination of curcumin and thalidomide. In addition, the compounds induce the death of myeloma cells significantly.

"In general, the combination of spice and drug was significantly more potent than either individually, suggesting that this hybrid approach in the drug design could lead to new compounds with improved biological activity" states Grant.

The team points out that findings also encourage the optimization of 5:07 compounds for the development of potent agents as treatment options for multiple myeloma.

See more details about this research (in English).

• Tweet