Synthetic moleculues could add spice to fight agai...( COLUMBUS Ohio Seeking to improve on...)

COLUMBUS, Ohio Seeking to improve on nature, scientists used a spice-based compound as a starting point and developed synthetic molecules that, in lab settings, are able to kill cancer cells and stop the cells from spreading.

The researchers are combining organic chemistry, computer-aided design and molecular biology techniques in developing and testing pharmaceutical compounds that can fight breast and prostate cancer cells. The synthetic molecules are derived from curcumin, a naturally occurring compound found in the spice turmeric.

Centuries of anecdotal evidence and recent scientific research suggest curcumin has multiple disease-fighting features, including anti-tumor properties. However, when eaten, curcumin is not absorbed well by the body. Instead, most ingested curcumin in food or supplement form remains in the gastrointestinal system and is eliminated before it is able to enter the bloodstream or tissues.

"Newer evidence describes how curcumin interacts with certain proteins to generate anti-cancer activity inside the body. We're focusing on the pathways that are most involved in cancer and trying to optimize for those properties," said James Fuchs, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy at Ohio State University and principal investigator on the project.

Fuchs presented the research today (8/17) at the American Chemical Society meeting in Philadelphia. He described a selection of the 40 compounds developed to date, emphasizing the synthetic molecules that appear to have the most potential to serve as the basis for anti-cancer drug development.

Fuchs and colleagues are continuing to refine compounds that are best structured to interact with a few overactive proteins that are associated with cell activity in breast and prostate cancers. Blocking these molecular targets can initiate cell death or stop cell migration in the cancers.

A major component of their strategy is called
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