Phycocyanin in spirulina may help prevent and counter adenocarcinoma, AML leukemia, brain cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, histiocytic sarcoma, liver cancer, lung cancer, nose cancer, oral cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostrate cancer, sinus cancer, skin cancer, squamous carcinoma, stomach cancer, throat cancer, and thyroid cancer tumors.
Phycocyanin - a major component of spirulina - has been shown to be effective in cancer treatment.
This research investigates the main mechanisms of action and explores its role in the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy.
An extensive examination of the literature shows that phycocyanin has no single specific target, but acts on the cancer cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus with different mechanisms of action.
We show that Phycocyanin targets the MDR1 gene, cytoskeleton proteins, and COX-2 enzyme , making it capable of killing cells resistant to chemotherapy.
CANCER DRUGS NO LONGER SATISFACTORY
The drugs currently available for cancer treatment, such as vinca alkaloids and taxanes, are not satisfactory in their effectiveness, because of the resistance developed by cancer cells, a major factor in the failure of treatment.
The rapid mutation of cancer cells have led to many becoming multi-drug resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs.
Many chemotherapies are toxic to healthy tissues, impairing the quality of life, weakening the immune system, and sometimes generating irreversible damage to the recovery power of the patient.
PHYCOCYANIN FROM SPIRULINA
Phycocyanin has been verified to have significant effects on the multiplication of uterine cervix carcinoma cells (HeLa) with no negative effects on healthy non-cancer cells.
The recombinant b-subunit of phycocyanin is toxic to metastatic cells with no negative impact on non-cancer cells.
Hence, phycocyanin can be regarded as an agent for the prevention of metastasis.
EFFECTIVENESS OF PHYCOCYANIN FROM SPIRULINA
Researchers have reported the antiproliferative and cytotoxic capacity of phycocyanin with anti-tumor effects against histiocytic sarcoma (thyroid and brain cancers) acute myeloid leukemia (aml) (blood and bone marrow cancers) adenocarcinoma (breast, stomach, prostate, lung, pancreatic and colorectal cancers) squamous carcinoma (throat, mouth, sinuses, nose and neck cancer) colorectal adenocarcinoma (colon and rectum cancers) estrogen-responsive breast cancer hepatocellular cancer/hepg2 (liver cancer) lung adenocarcinoma/a549 (lung cancer) ovary adenocarcinoma/skov-3 (ovarian cancer) mcf-7 - human breast cancer tpa-induced skin tumorigenesis (skin cancer), and lung cancer.
PHYCOCYANIN ANTI-CANCER MECHANISMS OF ACTION
Phycocyanin does not have a single mechanism of action.
Based on existing evidence, we hypothesize that it has a diversity of effects.
The mechanisms by which phycocyanin generates its antitumor effects:
- Cell cycle arrest in specific phases
- Modification of the cellular redox state through the modulation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants COX-2
- Induction of apoptosis and necrosis
Intracellular accumulation and potentialization of the effects of doxorubicin (a traditional anticancer drug)
Phycocyanin is a strong candidate for overcoming chemoresistance.
CONCLUSIONS
The studies in this paper have undeniably shown the chemotherapeutic potential of phycocyanin.
In addition to its inhibition of cell proliferation, which is a basic requirement, it has the important ability to circumvent multi drug resistance and the lack of specificity of current anticancer drugs.