Oxford: A brightly colored fungus has been used for medicinal purposes in the Himalayas for hundreds of years and has now developed a new chemotherapy drug that can be 40 times more effective and powerful than conventional medicine. This fungus has already been used in many diseases in China.
Scientists at Oxford University, in collaboration with a biopharmaceutical company called Newcana, have developed a compound called cordycepin. Although it has been used for internal inflammation and cancer before. But its usefulness is not so great.
The problem with Cordycephalus is that it breaks down the bloodstream and reduces its effectiveness. An enzyme (ADA) breaks it down. However, part of the cordycephalus remains, which is transported to cancer cells by a nucleoside transporter. Once in the cell, the chemical is converted into anti-cancer 3DATP metabolites. The fungus was useful at this stage, but it was less effective.
Experts have introduced a new technology called ‘Proteide’ technology to enhance the effect of cordycepin. It is fortified by adding certain chemicals to the mixture so that the cordai sapin does not disrupt the blood flow. In this way, the chemical directly attacks the cancer cells. In this way, the cancer cells are hit hard because the usefulness of the chemical is greatly increased at this time.
This modified version of the cordai sapin is named NUC 7738. Experiments have shown that the drug is now at least 40 times more effective. Phase-I trials are underway which have yielded promising results while Phase-II medical trials will be launched soon.