Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology News | Feature | 4 October 2016
Summary: Zerumbone, present in the bitter ginger, inhibits the viability of prostate cancer cell. The cell death is not due to apoptosis.
Source: The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao
Zerumbone is a sesquiterpine and is extracted from an edible plant the bitter ginger (Zingiber zerumbet Smith). It has antiinflammatory and chemopreventive effects in a variety of cell cultures. Anticancer effect of zerumbone has been reported in liver, gastric, breast, colon, ovarian and cervical cancer cells. Inhibitory effect of zerumbone on prostate cancer cells is suggested by inhibiting JAK2/STAT3 pathway and increases paclitaxel sensitivity. In this report, Chinese scholars Dr. Xian-De Cao and Dr. Hui-Min Zheng showed that the anti-cancer effect of zerumbone is not mediated by apoptosis.These results are recently published in Bangladesh Journal of Pharmacology.
Photograph: Bitter ginger