Newswise: The main challenges associated with existing lung cancer drugs are serious side effects and drug resistance. Therefore, there is a constant need to explore new molecules to improve the survival rate and quality of life of lung cancer patients.
In Indian Ayurvedic medicine, black cardamom has been used in formulations to treat cancer and lung conditions. A team of researchers from the NUS Faculty of Science, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and NUS College of Design and Engineering studied the scientific basis of this traditional medicinal practice and provided evidence of the cytotoxic effect of black cardamom on lung cancer cells. The research highlighted the spice as a source of potent bioactives, such as cardamonin and alpinetin, which could be used in the treatment or prevention of lung cancer. The study is the first to report the association of black cardamom extract with the induction of oxidative stress in lung cancer cells and to compare the effects of the spice on lung cancer cells, breast and liver
The findings could potentially lead to the discovery of new safe and effective bioactives that can prevent or cure cancer formation. The research was first published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in December 2021.
Delve into the science behind Ayurveda
Research provides verification of the ethnomedicinal uses of black cardamom for its effect on lung-related conditions. Black cardamom is commonly used in Asian households in rice preparations, curries and stews, either as a whole spice or as a powder. The spice is also prescribed in Indian Ayurvedic medicine in powder form where it is used for conditions such as cough, lung congestion, pulmonary tuberculosis and throat ailments. In addition, black cardamom has been used in drug formulations for cancer patients in some rural and tribal cultures in India.
In the NUS study, black cardamom fruits were powdered and sequentially extracted with five types of solvents, including organic solvents and water. This allowed the researchers to evaluate the best solvents to extract the most potent actives from the fruit. The different types of black cardamom extracts were then tested for their cytotoxicity against various types of cancer cells. These include lung, liver and breast cancer cells. Among the three cell types, lung cancer cells were least likely to survive when tested with black cardamom extracts.
“The study lays the foundation for further studies on whether consuming black cardamom can prevent or help as a therapeutic for lung cancer. Previous research papers on the effects of black cardamom on cancer were preliminary and did not link the results of research using black cardamom in traditional medicine. Nor was enough screening done with different cancer cells to understand which cancer cells were most sensitive to black cardamom extracts,” said Pooja Makhija, student PhD from the Chemistry Department of the NUS Faculty of Science.
The sequential extraction method with hexane followed by dichloromethane produced a black cardamom extract that was more effective against lung cancer cells. It was found that cells treated with dichloromethane extract died mainly by apoptotic pathway where the measurement of live cells dropped to less than 20 percent on average after 48 hours of contact with black cardamom extracted with dichloromethane. Cell death was caused by apoptosis with cells exhibiting morphological changes such as distortion and shrinkage of shape, increased oxidative stress, and failure to repair damage to the ‘DNA.
After running the black cardamom extract through liquid chromatography mass spectrometry analysis, the researchers linked the presence of two well-researched bioactives, cardamonin and alpinetin, to black cardamom’s cytotoxic potential.
“With black cardamom commonly used as an important spice in cooking, further research into its impact on lung cancer progression in preclinical models may provide strong evidence in support of the ‘food as Hippocrates’ medicine. has been largely neglected at present,” said Associate Professor Gautam Sethi from the Department of Pharmacology at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, who was a collaborator on the research .
Potential applications for cancer research
“The black cardamom extract used in the study can be used to isolate and identify newer chemical compounds that may be effective against cancer cells. These new actives could be subjected to cellular, preclinical and clinical testing for to further development into drugs to treat cancer,” said co-principal investigator Adjunct Associate Professor Bert Grobben from the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management at the NUS College of Engineering Design.