ROURKELA: A multi-institutional team led by the researchers of the National Institute of Technology- Rourkela (NIT-R) has identified a natural compound in long pepper called ‘Piperlongumine’ which selectively kills colon cancer cells without harming the healthy ones.

The research finding promises to be low-dose and a cost-effective alternate for the expensive and painful chemotherapy procedure, as reported by Prasanjeet Sarkar of The New Indian Express.

Further investigation on use of ‘Piperlongumine’ alongside chemotherapeutic drugs such as Oxaliplatin is underway for treating advanced and chemo-resistant colorectal cancer.

As per the WHO’s 2022 report, nearly 1.9 million new colon cases were detected and the disease claims around 9,00,000 patients globally. The research finding, published in the journal BioFactors, brings hope.

Conventional treatments such as chemotherapy are painful and have long-lasting side effects. Another added complication in cancer treatment process is development of resistance in cancerous cells to chemotherapy agents.

The researchers claimed that various international cancer research studies have examined natural molecules’ activity towards a variety of cancers but their impact on colorectal cancer has not been thoroughly explored.

The NIT-R research team checked the viability of colon cancer cells after treatment with ‘Piperlongumine’ through MTT assay and reported significant cancer cell death. They validated these results of cell death using multiple assays including apoptotic induction, nuclear damage and mitochondrial dysfunction. It was also found that ‘Piperlongumine’ increases oxidative stress inside colon cancer cells causing them to self-destruct, while normal cells managing the oxidative stress remain unaffected.

The paper was co-authored by Bijesh Kumar Biswal, associate professor, department of Life Science along with his research scholars, Rajeev Kumar Sahoo, Stuti Biswal, Sambit Kumar Patra and Shikshya Swarupa Panda in collaboration with Dr Surya Kant Tripathi from University of North Carolina (USA) and Krishnendu Barik and Dr Anil Kumar from Central University of South Bihar.

Biswal said, “This natural compound from long pepper has shown strong anticancer effects with minimal side effects, making it a promising and safer alternative therapy. As a next step, our team is investigating the use of ‘Piperlongumine’ alongside chemotherapeutic drugs such as Oxaliplatin to help restore patients’ responsiveness to treatment. This discovery opens new possibilities for treating advanced and chemo-resistant colorectal cancer where current treatment options are limited.”

The researchers said long pepper is inexpensive, easily cultivated plant and already exists in the diet of a large portion of the Indian population. The ‘Piperlongumine’ formulation offers a low-cost and green therapeutic alternative, especially beneficial for low and middle-income countries.