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Monday, 20 July 2020

Red seaweed polysaccharide inhibits growth of cancer cells

  • Researchers have synthesised a nanocomposite containing seaweed that can inhibit the growth of blood, colon and breast cancer cells1. The nanocomposite, made using a red-seaweed-derived polysaccharide and silver nanoparticles, has been found to selectively kill the cancer cells, sparing healthy cells.
  • These findings, the researchers say, show the potential of the abundant, renewable seaweed biomass in developing nanotherapy for cancer.
  • Silver nanoparticles are coveted for their antimicrobial and anticancer properties. Existing methods to produce silver nanoparticles utilise toxic chemicals. Such nanoparticles tend to coalesce and lose efficiency if stored for a long time.
  • To overcome such drawbacks, scientists from the CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute in Gujarat and the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (the R&D wing of the Tata Memorial Centre) in Mumbai, India, isolated agar ‒ a type of polysaccharide from a specific red seaweed ‒ and converted it into agar aldehyde. They then used the agar aldehyde to synthesise silver nanoparticles.
  • The nanoparticles and the aldehyde formed a stable nanocomposite. The researchers, led by Jyoti Kode and Ramavatar Meena, found that the nanocomposite checked the growth of human colon, blood and breast cancer cells.
  • They then grew tumours in mice using the same human cancer cells. Treating the mice with the nanocomposite significantly shrank the volume of the tumours. The nanocomposite-treated mice didn’t lose body weight. Their gut and gut bacteria remained intact.
  • The nanocomposite was found to be non-toxic to both healthy cells and stem cells. The stem cells have the potential to repair and regenerate organs damaged by cancers, says Kode.
  • References: 1. Kholiya, F. et al. Seaweed polysaccharide derived bioaldehyde nanocomposite: potential application in anticancer therapeutics. Carbohydr. Polymer. 240, 116282 (2020) Source: https://www.natureasia.com
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