Cembrenediols are naturally occurring compounds found in fresh tobacco. However, the commercial tobacco products that many people know and love are purposely fermented to produce customized flavors, which degrades the cembrenediol. This is unfortunate, because while it is well-known that tobacco contains several carcinogens, cembrenediol is actually found to have anticancer activities.
A recent study on prostate cancer used a mouse model to demonstrate that treatment with cembrenediol prevented recurrence of this cancer. The mice were first implanted with prostate cancer cells, which were allowed to develop into tumors. The tumors were then removed, followed by 8 weeks of treatment with cembrenediol. At the end of the study the animals were sacrificed and the organs examined. The animals that had received cembrenediol treatment showed much lower chance of cancer recurrence compared to vehicle-treated animals.
Experiments were also run on human prostate cancer cell lines. The cells struggled to grow when treated with the cembrenediol. The treated cells showed lower migration capability and lower colony formation capability. Further evidence suggests that this treatment impacts the metabolism of these cancer cells.
Additionally, the cembrenediols and analogs have been found to be potent inhibitors for other cancers as well. Therefore, although tobacco is generally known for its cancer-causing potential, it may be possible that this plant, when processed and used another way, may provide effective cancer treatment.
Cembrenediols available at LKT Labs:
Mudhish E, Siddique A, Ebrahim H, et al. The tobacco β-Cembrenediol: a prostate cancer recurrence suppressor lead and prospective scaffold via modulation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and tryptophan dioxygenase. Nutrients. 2022 Apr 4;14(7):1505. doi: 10.3390/nu14071505. PMID: 35406118