A natural compound found in a type of ginger can impact how cancer produces energy, latest evidence has suggested.
A new study from Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan has found that kencur ginger contains a natural compound that targets tumour metabolism.
Rather than using oxygen to make energy, cancer cells tend to rely on a backup method, but this ginger-derived molecule has been found to prevent the cells’ fat-making machinery.
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This finding suggests that natural substances could be used in the future to help in the fight against cancer.
Human cells produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate) by oxidising glucose, while cancer cells generate ATP through glycolysis and turn glucose into pyruvic acid and lactic acid.
Otherwise known at the Warburg effect, the way cancer cells produce ATP is inefficient, experts have said.
As part of the trial, the team of researchers examined the cinnamic acid ester ethyl p-methoxycinnamate – a component of kencur ginger. Prior studies have revealed that cancer cells are impacted by ethyl p-methoxycinnamate.
This study has shown that acid ester inhibits ATP production by disrupting de novo fatty acid synthesis and lipid metabolism, not through glycolysis.
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In addition, the findings have indicated that acid ester-induced inhibition triggered increased glycolysis, which acted as a possible survival mechanism in the cells, meaning ethyl p-methoxycinnamate induced cell death.
Lead author Professor Akiko Kojima-Yuasa said: “These findings not only provide new insights that supplement and expand the theory of the Warburg effect, which can be considered the starting point of cancer metabolism research but are also expected to lead to the discovery of new therapeutic targets and the development of new treatment methods.”
Read the study in the journal Scientific Reports.
