β-Sitosterol vs. synthetic steroid in anticancer treatment.

What is it about?

Some studies suggest that vegetarians and Asians have lower mortality rates from prostate cancer compared to men who follow a Western diet. β‐sitosterol, a key compound of plant‐based diets, has been found to induce significant changes in the ultrasonic structure of the prostatic adenomas, making it a promising candidate for further prostate cancer research. Consequently, we investigated the potential of β‐sitosterol and a synthetic derivative (2) as potent androgen synthesis inhibitors, a critical process for the growth and survival of prostate tumor LNCaP cells. Our findings revealed significant insights into the androgen synthesis pathways in LNCaP cells. The most efficient metabolic route for dihydrotestosterone formation was the conversion of androstenedione to 5α‐androstanedione rather than from testosterone in LNCaP. Both β‐sitosterol and 2 demonstrated substantial inhibitory effects on this enzyme pathway for the dihydrotestosterone formation and significantly reduced cell viability, highlighting their therapeutic potential. These findings enhance our understanding of the inhibitory effects of β‐sitosterol and 2 on LNCaP cells and suggest their promising application in the treatment of prostate cancer.

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Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash

Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The compound β-sitosterol and the steroid 16-formyl-17-methoxyandrost-5,16-dien-3β-yl-butyrate (2) have been shown to inhibit the formation of dihydrotestosterone in the metastatic prostate cancer cell line LNCaP. This suggests potential applications for treating prostate cancer.

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