Plant compound might battle leukaemia, Surrey Uni researchers say

A compound present in a tropical plant might assist to battle an aggressive type of leukaemia and make chemotherapy more practical, a research has discovered.

Researchers from the University of Surrey say the compound forskolin, present in a plant that grows in Africa and Asia, has a “dual mechanism of action” which fights the blood most cancers.

The compound, which is extracted from the woolly Plectranthus plant, has additionally been discovered to enhance typical chemotherapy by blocking a protein which permits most cancers cells to withstand the remedy.

Dr Maria Teresa Esposito, a biochemistry lecturer concerned within the research, mentioned the invention “could lead to a more effective treatment strategy” for sufferers with the most cancers.

Dr Esposito added that utilizing the compound might enable for decrease doses of chemotherapy for use, decreasing the unwanted effects of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) therapies.

The research, printed within the British Journal of Pharmacology on 20 August, discovered that forskolin helped to cease most cancers cells combating again towards chemotherapy medicine, permitting extra of the medicine to enter leukaemia cells and making the remedy stronger.

The analysis was undertaken by the University of Surrey in collaboration with researchers from the University of Roehampton, Queen Mary University and University College London.

Dr Simon Ridley, director of analysis at Leukaemia UK which funded the research, mentioned: “We are committed to funding innovative research and are proud to have supported Dr Esposito’s work.

“AML is among the most aggressive and lethal most cancers varieties, and this research opens the door to kinder, more practical therapies.

“Work like this is essential if we are to achieve our goal of doubling the five-year survival rate for AML within the next decade.”