A plant-based compound called sulfuretin is being explored as a potential cancer treatment.
Sulfuretin stopped the progression of cancer cells in a lab study.
Researchers are doing additional testing to see how sulfuretin may help treat cancer.
An estimated 2 million people are diagnosed with cancer each year in the U.S. While the right treatment for each person largely depends on the type of cancer and its stage, doctors repeatedly stress that lifestyle choices can also help to support conventional treatments like chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation. Now, new research suggests that a plant-based compound called sulfuretin may be able to stop the progression of cancer—it’s just unclear what that means for future treatments.
Research on this is in its infancy, but the findings are raising a lot of questions about the potential future use of sulfuretin for cancer treatment.
Meet the experts: Jamie Alan, Ph.D., an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University; Sagar Sardesai, MBBS, a breast medical oncologist at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute; Nagi B. Kumar, Ph.D., R.D., senior member of the Cancer Epidemiology Program at Moffitt Cancer Center; Veronika Fedirko, Ph.D., M.P.H., molecular cancer epidemiologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Here’s what the study found, plus what doctors want you to keep in mind.
What did the study find?
For the study, which was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers from Oregon State University tested the impact of sulfuretin, a plant-derived flavonoid, on certain cells in a lab. The researchers found that sulfuretin, along with two synthetic compounds, blocked the activity of an enzyme called hyaluronidase—specifically cell migration inducing and hyaluronan-binding protein (CEMIP). CEMIP is involved in the progression of certain types of cancer, as well as multiple sclerosis (MS).
Hyaluronidase naturally degrades hyaluronic acid, leading to issues with cells that produce myelin (the protective sheath over nerve cells) and allowing cancer cells to grow. (Myelin damage is linked to multiple sclerosis, stroke, and some types of dementia.)
The researchers ultimately concluded that sulfuretin has the “potential” as a treatment for a host of serious conditions, including cancer and MS.
What is sulfuretin?
Sulfuretin is a flavonoid, which is a class of compounds found in plants. “Sulferetin is found in yellow plants and flowers,” explains Jamie Alan, Ph.D., an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Michigan State University. Those plants and flowers include:
Rhus verniciflua, aka the Chinese lacquer tree
Dahlia, a type of flower
Bidens tripartite, a flowering plant in the sunflower family
Dipterx lacunifera, a tall, flowering tree
Sulfuretin has been studied to treat a range of health conditions and symptoms, including bodily inflammation and leukemia. The flavonoid “has previously been shown to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties that are important mechanisms to prevent cancer,” says Nagi B. Kumar, Ph.D., R.D., senior member of the Cancer Epidemiology Program at Moffitt Cancer Center.
But despite the ongoing research around it, sulfuretin “isn’t something you could find in your local drug store or grocery store,” Alan says.
Why might sulfuretin help to stop the progression of cancer?
It’s not entirely clear at this point, but the researchers did break down how their findings may apply to cancer progression.
The researchers found that the treatment that included sulfuretin and two synthetic compounds altered the function of a protein that’s present in the extracellular matrix (ECM) that surrounds a tumor. “The ECM is not part of the tumor, but it plays a critical role in many processes including cell growth, movement, and migration, which is part of tumor growth and spread,” Alan explains.
By interfering with the ECM, the sulfuretin may be able to stop cancer progression, the researchers wrote. But this isn’t a slam dunk that sulfuretin will stop cancer cells from growing.
“It’s unclear what impact CEMIP inhibitors will have in humans with advanced cancers,” says Sagar Sardesai, MBBS, a breast medical oncologist at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Almost all the data with CEMIP inhibitors is in labs, but no animal experiments have been conducted yet, he points out. “I would not make the conclusion that sulfuretin can stop progression of any human cancer at this time,” he says.
How this factors into cancer treatment
It’s important to point out that the findings are very preliminary. Meaning, sulfuretin was tested on cells in a lab, which is a long way from being an actual treatment for cancer in humans.
“This means that the field has more work to do in pre-clinical testing,” Alan says. “At this point, there is no evidence that this compound will be able to effectively treat cancer in humans, although this may change in the next decade or so.”
Alan also stresses this: “There is no universally-accepted plant source to effectively treat cancer in the United States at this time.” However, there are other plant sources that are being investigated to treat cancer. “Our team works with several phytochemicals or plant-derived chemicals such as sulforaphane (extract of broccoli seeds), green tea catechins, isoflavones, lycopene, etc., for cancer chemoprevention,” Nagi says. “These plant-derived flavanols show promise in cell studies, animal studies, and in early human studies.”
Veronika Fedirko, Ph.D., M.P.H., molecular cancer epidemiologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, calls the latest findings “intriguing” and points out that some cancer treatments originated in plants. “The cancer drug irinotecan originates from the alkaloid camptothecin, which was first discovered in Camptotheca acuminata, also known as the Happy Tree, Cancer Tree, or Tree of Life,” she points out.
What happens now?
This study is an early indicator that sulfuretin has the potential to be used as a plant-based treatment for cancer—but it’s not a given. The researchers involved in this study shared in a press release that they next plan to test the compound in animal models to see how effective it may be for treating cancer and MS, as well as possible side effects.
New cancer treatments also take a lot of time before they end up being used on patients, Fedirko says. “The time between the initial discovery of a promising compound and its full development into a marketed drug can vary significantly, typically taking several decades and numerous studies,” she says.
Still, “preliminary findings from this research should not sway the public on making any changes with respect to consumption of sulfuretin-based food or supplements to treat cancer,” Sardesai says.
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