CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) researchers have shown that curcumin -- the active principle from turmeric -- may enhance cancer cell death, said a statement from the institution on Monday.
The study showed that curcumin significantly increased the sensitivity of leukemia cells to a protein that causes death of cancer cells. The research however showed these results in-situ (in a test tube) and the outcome may vary in the human body. This doubt arises because curcumin is known to be poorly absorbed into the blood from the gut and its bioavailability for therapeutic purposes is generally poor.
There have been considerable efforts in developing therapeutic agents that trigger death of cancer cells. One such agent that has been found promising is a protein called ‘TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand’ (TRAIL). Its ability to selectively kill cancer cells by ‘apoptosis’ has resulted in a number of preclinical studies being carried out all over the world. Curcumin enhances the sensitivity of the cancer cells to the TRAIL, the statement said.
In cancer treatment, it is important to induce death of cancer cells preferentially without extensive damage to healthy cells in the body. ‘Apoptosis’, or programmed cell death, is generally preferred over the more aggressive and premature ‘necrosis’ for killing cancer cells because it releases fewer cellular components that trigger inflammation than the latter.
The study was led by Rama Shanker Verma, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras. The results of this work were recently published in the reputed peer-reviewed journal Pharmacological Reports. The paper was co-authored by Sridevi Surapally and Madhumathi Jayaprakasam.
Curcumin is already known to be a potent anti-cancer agent because of its ability to inhibit carcinogenesis and induce apoptosis in various cancer cells. Its function as a sensitizer to TRAIL has been shown in cases of prostate cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer and malignant glioma, the statement said.