Scientists from the China Pharmaceutical University and Nanjing Medical University have found that the metabolic products of the fungus Bipolaris victoriae S27, which lives on plants, contain anti-cancer compounds. The results of the study were published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting the intestines. Traditional treatment methods use cytotoxic drugs that disrupt the development of not only cancer cells, but also healthy cells, which leads to many side effects. However, there is increasing emphasis on targeted therapies that target specific molecules in cancer cells to reduce damage to healthy tissue.
About half of targeted therapy drugs are developed from natural components, such as plants, bacteria and marine organisms.
During the study, experts studied the metabolic products of the fungus Bipolaris victoriae S27, which lives on plants. They identified a previously unknown class of compounds—terpene-non-adrid heterodimers. Of the 12 substances studied, nine were highly effective in fighting cancer cells, and one of them was as effective as the widely used drug cisplatin.
In experiments on rodents, a drug based on this substance was able to significantly reduce tumors without toxic side effects, which makes it a promising candidate for further research in the field of targeted therapy for colorectal cancer.
