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Therapeutic potential of gambogic acid, a caged xanthone, to target cancer

Kishore Banik1, Choudhary Harsha1, Devivasha Bordoloi1

  • 1Cancer Biology Laboratory, DBT-AIST International Laboratory for Advanced Biomedicine (DAILAB), Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, 781039, India.

Cancer Letters
|December 17, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Natural compounds show promise for treating diseases like cancer. Gambogic acid (GA), derived from Garcinia hanburyi, exhibits potent anti-cancer properties and warrants further development as a therapeutic agent.

Area of Science:

  • Natural product chemistry
  • Pharmacology
  • Oncology

Background:

  • Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality with limitations in current treatments, including side effects and chemoresistance.
  • Natural compounds offer potential therapeutic alternatives due to their biological and clinical activities.
  • There is a critical need for novel, safe, and effective cancer prevention and treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the molecular mechanisms of gambogic acid (GA) in cancer treatment.
  • To evaluate the anti-cancer potential of GA.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on gambogic acid.
  • Analysis of molecular targets and mechanisms of GA's anti-cancer activity.

Main Results:

  • Gambogic acid (GA), a xanthone from Garcinia hanburyi, possesses inherent anti-cancer properties.
  • GA targets specific molecular pathways crucial for its efficacy against cancer cells.
  • The review elucidates the mechanisms underlying GA's anti-cancer effects.

Conclusions:

  • Gambogic acid demonstrates significant potential as an anti-cancer therapeutic.
  • Further development and design of GA could lead to a viable anti-cancer drug.
  • GA represents a promising natural compound for cancer treatment strategies.

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