Researchers examine potential for potatoes to yield novel cancer treatment

Everyone has heard of someone who has survived cancer. In 2020, there were around 10 million fatalities and 19 million new cases worldwide. Despite ongoing improvements, medicines still have the potential to destroy healthy cells or have unpleasant side effects that are challenging for patients to manage with.
There are several possible candidates in conventional medicine for creating novel, more focused cancer therapies.

A team of Polish researchers from Adam Mickiewicz University, led by Magdalena Winkiel, looked at the glycoalkaloids, bioactive compounds found in several well-known crops, including potatoes and tomatoes, to demonstrate their potential to cure cancer.

“Scientists worldwide are still searching for the drugs which will be lethal to cancer cells but at the same time safe for healthy cells,” said Winkiel. “It is not easy despite the advances in medicine and powerful development of modern treatment techniques. That is why it might be worth going back to medicinal plants that were used years ago with success in the treatment of various ailments. I believe that it is worth re-examining their properties and perhaps rediscovering their potential.”

Making medicine out of poison: Winkiel and her colleagues concentrated on five glycoalkaloids discovered in crude extracts of the Solanaceae plant family, generally referred to as nightshades: solanine, chaconine, solasonine, solamargine, and tomatine.

This family of plants includes several well-known food plants as well as numerous harmful ones, sometimes as a result of the alkaloids they make to protect themselves against herbivorous animals. But the right dosage may transform a poison into a medicine: once alkaloids have been given in a safe therapeutic amount, they can be effective clinical instruments.
Particularly glycoalkaloids may encourage cancer cell death and limit the development of cancer cells. Future medicines have a great deal of potential since they are important target areas for reducing cancer and improving patient prognoses.

Although there may be some impacts on the reproductive system, in silico studies—a crucial first step—indicate that the glycoalkaloids are not poisonous, do not run the risk of harming DNA, and do not appear to increase the chance of developing tumours in the future.

“Even if we cannot replace anticancer drugs that are used nowadays, maybe combined therapy will increase the effectiveness of this treatment,” Winkiel suggested. “There are many questions, but without detailed knowledge of the properties of glycoalkaloids, we will not be able to find out.”

Using in vitro and model animal research to identify which glycoalkaloids are safe and promising enough to investigate in people is a key step ahead from tomatoes to therapies. Although the amounts of these glycoalkaloids in potatoes vary depending on the cultivar and the light and temperature conditions to which they are exposed, Winkiel and her colleagues emphasise compounds obtained from potatoes, such as solanine and chaconine.

Solanine inhibits metastasis and prevents several potentially carcinogenic compounds from becoming carcinogens in the body. Studies on a particular kind of leukaemia cell shown that solanine can destroy the cells when used in therapeutic quantities. The anti-inflammatory effects of chaconine may be used to treat sepsis.

Using in vitro and model animal research to identify which glycoalkaloids are safe and promising enough to investigate in people is a key step ahead from tomatoes to therapies. Although the amounts of these glycoalkaloids in potatoes vary depending on the cultivar and the light and temperature conditions to which they are exposed, Winkiel and her colleagues emphasise compounds obtained from potatoes, such as solanine and chaconine.
Solanine inhibits metastasis and prevents several potentially carcinogenic compounds from becoming carcinogens in the body. Studies on a particular kind of leukaemia cell shown that solanine can destroy the cells when used in therapeutic quantities. The anti-inflammatory effects of chaconine may be used to treat sepsis.

Using in vitro and model animal research to identify which glycoalkaloids are safe and promising enough to investigate in people is a key step ahead from tomatoes to therapies. Although the amounts of these glycoalkaloids in potatoes vary depending on the cultivar and the light and temperature conditions to which they are exposed, Winkiel and her colleagues emphasise compounds obtained from potatoes, such as solanine and chaconine.

Solanine inhibits metastasis and prevents several potentially carcinogenic compounds from becoming carcinogens in the body. Studies on a particular kind of leukaemia cell shown that solanine can destroy the cells when used in therapeutic quantities. The anti-inflammatory effects of chaconine may be used to treat sepsis.

According to recent study, nanoparticles improve the transfer of glycoalkaloids to cancer cells, improving medicine administration. There is some indication that high-temperature processing improves the properties of the glycoalkaloid.

However, the mechanisms of action of the glycoalkaloids as well as any possible safety concerns must be better understood before patients may benefit from cancer medicines that originate straight from the vegetable garden.