Papayas used to treat colorectal cancer
THERE is a growing interest recently in using papain enzyme in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC), a leading cause of cancer-related mortality with around 655,000 deaths worldwide annually.
Lincoln University College’s Nanomedicine Research Group led by Associate Professor Dr Satheesh Babu Natarajan has developed nanoparticles with papain enzyme for cancer therapy together with researchers from other public and private institutions.
According to Satheesh, the proteolytic enzyme extracted from Carica papaya is largely unstable at storage condition.
“Once consumed, it will also be biologically denatured by the peptic acid in the stomach before it reaches the colon or the rectum,” he said.
“To date, developments on solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have gained great attention on cancer chemotherapy.
“The papain-loaded SLNs were prepared using melt dispersion-ultrasonication technique to stabilise the papain enzyme. The SLN which is separated using centrifuge is found to be stable at room temperature and safe for consumption.
“The cytotoxic effect of the papain-loaded SLNs to the cancer cells was found to be enhanced compared to pure papain enzyme,” he added.
Satheesh said papain is an enzyme which can degrade the protective fibrin layer of cancer cells, making it a useful enzyme for the treatment of cancer. Based on laboratory studies, papain enzyme is believed to be just as effective as the conventional drugs if it is able to reach the targeted cancer cells.
“We believe the enzyme has a lot of potential in the treatment of colorectal cancer.
“We have so far filled the patent for our research entitled ‘A composition for inhibiting proliferation of cancer cells’,” he said.
“The patent was registered in 2015 under the Utility Innovation category, MyIPO.”
He believes that since papaya is easily available in Malaysia, commercialisation would be feasible.
The research initiative which started in 2014 was sponsored with a grant of RM94,000 under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) offered by the Ministry of Higher Education.
The nanomedicine research group at Lincoln has developed a pilot scale production of papain SLNs for cancer therapy.
“Based on the successful outcome of this research, we are hoping to get a grant of RM120,000 from the MOHE for further exploratory research involving animal testing,” he said.
Researchers and industrial collaborators with similar interest are welcomed. He can be reached at satheeshbabu@lincoln.edu.my.
We believe the enzyme has a lot of potential in the treatment of colorectal cancer.” DR SATHEESH BABU NATARAJAN, Associate Professor
Lincoln University College’s Nanomedicine Research Group