Who doesn’t love spices? Well, now we have another reason to enjoy them a little more often!
Scientists at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Kerala and Manipal University, Karnataka show Cardamonin, a chemical found in the Cardamom spice, and many other edible plants like ginger, peppercorn, and more to be effective in preventing and controlling colorectal cancer in mice.
The team led by Dr. Harikumar performed studies on Azoxymethane (AOM) induced mouse model of colorectal cancer (CRC) and human cancer cell lines- widely established systems for such studies.
Colorectal cancer, cancer of the colon or the rectum, is currently the third most common cause of cancer in men and second most in women. Our age, diet and lifestyle habits are to be blamed for it.
Cardamonin is effective both ways, given as a protective agent before the development of cancer as a dietary intervention or even started after the development of CRC, the study showed. They figured out the mechanism of action of this phytochemical, a plant derived chemical and identified its role in altering the MicroRNAs or miRNAs in the cell.
These miRNAs are short stretches of genetic material (RNA) that do not code for a protein but have regulatory functions.
“Cardamonin modulates certain miRNAs that collectively regulate the reactive oxygen (ROS) production”, explains Dr. Harikumar.
ROS are chemicals that when produced, lead to cell death; cardamonin increases ROS production which results in the death of unwanted cancer cells.
The team is the first in showing the role of miRNAs in AOM induced colorectal cancer.
“Along with further identifying the critical miRNAs which regulate ROS dependent genes, we are also interested in checking the synergy between the cardamonin and FDA approved chemotherapeutic drugs for a possible combination therapy. Exploring certain chemically synthesized analogs of cardamonin with increased cytotoxicity is one of our prime focuses”, Dr. Harikumar says.
The work was a team effort of Shirley James, Jayasekharan S. Aparna, Aswathy Mary Paul, Manendra Babu Lankadasari, Sabira Mohammed, Valsalakumari S. Binu, Thankayyan R. Santhoshkumar, Girijadevi Reshmi & Kuzhuvelil B. Harikumar. The findings are published in Scientific Reports.