Antineoplastic Actions of Cinnamic Acids and Their Dimers in Breast Cancer Cells: A Comparative Study.

Background/aim: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in US, which necessitates constant research for medications with minimal adverse effects. The aim of the study was to determine if certain cinnamic acid dimers (CADs) exhibit higher cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells than against non-tumorigenic cells.

Materials And Methods: These dimers have not been explored, so far, due to their complex stereochemistry; cavitand-mediated photodimerization (CMP) method was used to produce several CADs, which were tested for cytotoxicity, apoptosis and cell cycle inhibition.

Ferulic acid dimer as a non-opioid therapeutic for acute pain.

Purpose: Search for alternate pain medications has gained more importance in the past few years due to adverse effects associated with currently prescribed drugs including nervous system dysfunction with opioids, gastrointestinal discomfort with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and cardiovascular anomalies with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors. Phytomedicine has been explored for the treatment of pain, as these have been used for generations in regional communities and tend to lack major side effects in general. One such phytomedicine, incarvillateine (INCA), derived from the Chinese herb has its primary antinociceptive action through the adenosine receptor, a novel pain target.