2024_05: Anti-Tumour Compound of a Mali Desert Tree

The use of plants for healing accompanied humans from their very beginnings. Among the almost half a million of species that have already been described, there are many that produce unique compounds. Especially in developing countries many people depend on plants for healing, because they cannot afford the expensive Western style medication. The tree Detarium microcarpum growing in Mali is used in traditional medicine also against breast cancer. Many anti-tumour compounds target the microtubules, which blocks the proliferation of cancer cells. We, therefore, investigated, whether this is the case for this medicinal plant from Mali. Using tobacco cells, where microtubules were labelled by a fluorescent protein, and could demonstrate that, indeed, extracts from D. microcarpum eliminated microtubules swiftly and efficiently. The effect could be localised to the alkaloid fraction. On this base it will be possible to identify the active compound in the future, not only to develop novel tumour therapies, but also to lift traditional medicine by scientific grounding on a higher level.

Publication

Dembele N, Nick P (2024) Anti‐microtubular activity of total alkaloids and aqueous extract of Detarium microcarpum a medicinal plant harvested in Mali. Protoplasma 262, 415-430 - pdf