Department of Pathology, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center and Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
J Hematol Oncol. 2009 Sep 2;2:38. doi: 10.1186/1756-8722-2-38.
Garcinol, harvested from Garcinia indica, has traditionally been used in tropical regions and appreciated for centuries; however its biological properties are only beginning to be elucidated. There is ample data to suggest potent antioxidant properties of this compound which have been used to explain most of its observed biological activities. However, emerging evidence suggests that garcinol could be useful as an anti-cancer agent, and it is increasingly being realized that garcinol is a pleiotropic agent capable of modulating key regulatory cell signaling pathways. Here we have summarized the progress of our current research knowledge on garcinol and its observed biological activities. We have also provided an explanation of observed properties based on its chemical structure and provided an insight into the structure and properties of chalcones, the precursors of garcinol. The available data is promising but more detailed investigations into the various properties of this compound, particularly its anti-cancer activity are urgently needed, and it is our hope that this review will stimulate further research for elucidating and appreciating the value of this nature's wonder agent.
藤黄果提取物，传统上用于热带地区，几个世纪以来一直受到重视；然而，其生物特性才刚刚开始被阐明。有大量数据表明，这种化合物具有很强的抗氧化特性，这也是解释其大部分观察到的生物活性的原因。然而，新出现的证据表明，藤黄果可能是一种有用的抗癌药物，人们越来越认识到，藤黄果是一种多效调节剂，能够调节关键的调节细胞信号通路。在这里，我们总结了我们目前对藤黄果及其观察到的生物活性的研究进展。我们还根据其化学结构解释了观察到的性质，并深入了解了藤黄果的前体查耳酮的结构和性质。现有数据很有希望，但迫切需要对该化合物的各种特性，特别是其抗癌活性进行更详细的研究，我们希望这篇综述将激发进一步的研究，阐明和欣赏这种自然界神奇药物的价值。
