Study on the effect of cardamonin on autophagy

In this study, four researchers from South Korea investigated the fact that some anti-cancer agents can induce autophagy, which can protect cells or sensitize them to further drug treatment. In traditional Chinese medicine, ginger plants (Zingiberaceae) containing cardamonin have been used to treat cancer for thousands of years. However, the autophagic and antiproliferative effect of cardamonin has not been clarified. The present study therefore investigated the effects of cardamonin and demonstrated that cardamonin inhibits cell proliferation, indexes the G2/M phase of the cell cycle and enhances autophagy in HCT116 cells.

In addition, the researchers found that the tumor protein p53 partially regulates the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) and thus regulates the autophagic and antiproliferative effect induced by cardamonin. Cardamonin and other anticancer agents that increase p53 or JNK thus stimulate autophagy and can be used for therapy, especially in carcinoma patients.