British researchers have successfully adapted a common herbal treatment to create a potentially powerful new treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, it has been announced.
The treatment derives from the feverfew plant.
A compound called parthenolide has been available commercially some time and scientists have suggested it might treat cancer.
Now researchers at Birmingham University, UK, say they have modified it to produce several new compounds that have killed cancer cells in vitro.
According to the researchers, the compounds increase the levels of reactive oxygen species, which are unstable and found in high levels in cancer cells.
The findings have been published in MedChemCom.
Researcher Dr Angelo Agathanggelou said: "There are several effective treatments for CLL, but after a time the disease in some patients becomes resistant. We were interested in finding out more about the potential of parthenolide.
"With expertise from colleagues in the School of Chemistry we’ve been able to demonstrate that this compound shows real promise and could provide alternative treatment options for CLL patients."
Professor John Fossey, of the University’s School of Chemistry, said: "This research is important not only because we have shown a way of producing parthenolide that could make it much more accessible to researchers, but also because we’ve been able to improve its drug-like properties to kill cancer cells. It’s a clear demonstration that parthenolide has the potential to progress from the flower-bed into the clinic."
Li et al. Derivatisation of parthenolide to address chemoresistant chronic lymphocytic leukaemia MedChemCom 28 July 2019
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