An international team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has found a compound in ginger, called furanodienone (FDN), that selectively binds to and regulates a nuclear receptor involved in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
An international team led by researchers at the University of Toronto has found a compound in ginger, called furanodienone (FDN), that selectively binds to and regulates a nuclear receptor involved in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Through a screen to identify chemical components of ginger that bind to receptors associated with IBD, the team observed a strong interaction between FDN and the pregnane X receptor (PXR). FDN reduces inflammation in the colon by activating PXR’s ability to suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the body. While researchers have been aware of FDN for decades, they had not determined its functions or targets in the body until now.
“We found that we could reduce inflammation in the colons of mice through oral injections of FDN,” said Jiabao Liu, research associate at U of T's Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research. “Our discovery of FDN’s target nuclear receptor highlights the potential of complementary and integrative medicine for IBD treatment. We believe natural products may be able to regulate nuclear receptors with more precision than synthetic compounds, which could lead to alternative therapeutics that are cost-effective and widely accessible.”
The study was published recently in the journal Nature Communications.
Read more at University of Toronto
Image: Research Associate Jiabao Liu and Professor Henry Krause. (Credit: University of Toronto)
