- Solanaceae, the family to which these foods belong, contain substances of pharmacological interest.
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| Tomatoes. / Pixabay |
Tomatoes and potatoes, a source of future cancer treatments?
Cancer is currently one of the main causes of death in the world and every day it rises in the ranking. Although this is partly due to the decrease in mortality from other causes and the increase in life expectancy (cancer becomes more common with advancing age), finding new treatments and strategies is a key step to continue advancing towards the highest possible quality of life.
In this particular race, a very particular family of plants may play an important role, some of which we are more than used to seeing in our kitchens: Solanaceae.
Poisons and food
Thus, recently a group of Polish scientists has conducted a review of the scientific literature on the subject so far available, determined to demonstrate the anticancer potential of certain compounds found naturally in some of the members of this family, such as tomatoes. and the potatoes.
As detailed in the specialized media Frontiers in Pharmacology, this team focused specifically on the study of five glycoalkaloids: solanine, chaconine, solasonine, solamargine, and tomatine, which are found in the crude extracts of Solanaceae.
A curious fact is that, in addition to containing many species that are popular foods (such as tomatoes, potatoes, aubergines, chili peppers, or peppers), the Solanaceae family is also home to many highly toxic species such as tobacco. or the jimson weed. This is precise because many of these plants generate different alkaloids (the class of compounds to which glycoalkaloids belong) as a defensive mechanism that prevents them from being eaten by animals in the natural environment.
Anticancer properties
Many of these same alkaloids, however, have also proven to be powerful medicines when used in the correct forms and dosages. Thus, glycoalkaloids seem to inhibit cancer cell growth and even promote the death of cancer cells, and at the same time in silico studies (through computer simulations) suggest that they are not toxic to healthy cells, so they are not there seems to be a risk of genetic damage (which can, in turn, lead to tumors).
Based on this, these authors suggest taking the step towards the use of in vitro models (cell cultures) and animal models, which is essential to be able to prepare medicines from these substances. Specifically, they mention that solanine prevents certain potentially carcinogenic chemicals from becoming carcinogenic and that at certain doses it seems to kill a particular type of malignant leukemia cells; chaconine has anti-inflammatory properties (chronic inflammatory processes often play an important role in the genesis of cancer); solamargine prevents liver cancer cells from reproducing; solasonine could attack cancer stem cells; and tomatine helps regulate the cell life cycle, which can help rid the body of cancer cells.
Once progress is made in this direction, and especially the appropriate doses, the ideal modes of administration, and, above all, the safety profile of these glycoalkaloids are clarified, it is possible that one day they will become anticancer drugs that improve survival and quality of life of patients.
References
Magdalena Joanna Winkiel, Szymon Chowański & Małgorzata Słocińska. Anticancer activity of glycoalkaloids in Solanum plants: a review. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.97945
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