Research Receives NIH Grant to Study Natural Products for Anti-Cancer Properties

A researcher from the University of Oklahoma (OU), has received a new grant of nearly $1 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate thousands of natural products with therapeutic potential for cancer.

In an announcement, the university said Chinthalapally Rao, MD, director of the Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, will work in collaboration with the NIH National Center for Translational Sciences, which houses a vast repository of around 500,000 natural product samples. With over 30 years of experience in studying and refining natural products for drug development, Dr. Rao aims to close the knowledge gap in understanding how these products target cancer pathways.

“Currently, we don’t have sufficient understanding about how natural products target cancer pathways,” Dr. Rao explained. “With this grant, we aim to discover the precise targets of natural products that are relevant to the progression of cancer.”

The research, which will be conducted over the course of three years, will primarily focus on colon cancer, a slow-growing cancer that presents a significant opportunity for prevention or early intervention. Dr. Rao said his team will utilize high-throughput screening, a rapid method used in drug discovery, to evaluate the effects of various natural products on colon cancer. This screening will help identify active compounds within these natural products, which will then undergo further analysis.

In collaboration with the Center for Therapeutic Sciences at OU Health Sciences, the team plans to narrow down the most promising compounds for detailed study. This includes testing in mouse models to assess how effectively these compounds inhibit tumor growth, determining the optimal dosage, and evaluating any potential toxicities.

Dr. Rao’s past research has identified several natural products with potential anticancer properties, including curcumin, caffeic acid esters from honeybees, oleanonic acid, which is found in fruit, and the herbal plant, diosgenin.

If the research team meets key milestones, the NIH said it will provide them with an additional $1 million. By delving into nature's pharmacy, Dr. Rao and his team said they hope to open new avenues in the fight against cancer, potentially leading to innovative therapies that harness the power of natural products.