DTS(dibenzyl trisulphide) from Anamu / ROS Cancer Research Results

Anamu, DTS(dibenzyl trisulphide) from Anamu: Click to Expand ⟱

Features:

Anamu (Guinea Hen Weed) Anamu (Petiveria alliacea)
A herb that is indigenous to the Amazon rainforest and the tropical areas of the Caribbean, Central and South America and Africa.
Anamu has been used for a wide variety of conditions, including arthritis, digestive disorders, infections, diabetes, cancer, for pain relief, and to induce abortion.

Anamu — Anamu is the medicinal plant Petiveria alliacea, also called Guinea hen weed, with dibenzyl trisulfide as a prominent organosulfur bioactive linked to anticancer mechanistic work. It is best classified as a botanical extract / organosulfur natural-product source rather than a single defined drug, because published studies use crude extracts, standardized fractions, and isolated dibenzyl trisulfide. The plant is native or naturalized across tropical South and Central America, the Caribbean, parts of Africa, and the southeastern United States. Translational relevance is limited by heterogeneous extract chemistry, sparse human efficacy data, and potential reproductive, genotoxic, and hepatic safety constraints.

Primary mechanisms (ranked):

Direct cytotoxic stress in cancer cells through lysosomal membrane permeabilization and caspase-independent cell death, especially shown for isolated DTS in triple-negative breast cancer models.
Suppression of proliferative kinase signaling, including reported RSK1 inhibition by DTS and context-dependent MAPK axis modulation.
Metabolic suppression in leukemia and tumor-cell models, including ↓ glucose uptake, ↓ oxygen consumption, ↓ intracellular ATP, and altered glycolytic / oxidative phosphorylation metabolites.
ROS-linked antiproliferative stress, with ROS increase reported in some leukemia models; this appears secondary/context-dependent rather than a universal primary axis.
Migration and metastasis suppression in preclinical models, linked to reduced tumor burden, reduced blast infiltration, and immune-response modulation in murine leukemia work.
Immune / cytokine modulation, including older reports of Th1/Th2 cytokine switching, but this is not yet a validated oncology clinical mechanism.
Chemoprevention-like CYP1A inhibition by DTS, which may reduce activation of some environmental procarcinogens but is distinct from direct tumor killing.

Bioavailability / PK relevance: Human PK for Anamu extracts or isolated DTS is not well established. Oral use is common in supplements and teas, but standardized exposure, active-metabolite formation, tissue distribution, and dose-response relationships are poorly defined. Extract identity is critical because water, ethanol, and fractionated preparations are not interchangeable.

In-vitro vs systemic exposure relevance: Most anticancer evidence is in vitro or murine, and common cell-culture concentrations may not map to achievable human plasma or tumor exposure. For crude extracts, concentration equivalence is especially weak because active DTS and other sulfur constituents vary by plant part, extraction method, and storage.

Clinical evidence status: Preclinical dominant. One registered phase Ib/II protocol is evaluating standardized Anamu extract as an adjunct with conventional therapy in metastatic gastrointestinal tumors and acute leukemias, but efficacy is not established. MSKCC states that Petiveria alliacea has not been shown to treat cancer in humans. A small osteoarthritis trial did not show benefit over placebo.

Anamu Mechanistic Profile

Rank	Pathway / Axis	Cancer Cells	Normal Cells	TSF	Primary Effect	Notes / Interpretation
1	Lysosomal membrane permeabilization	↑ lysosomal destabilization; ↑ cathepsin-linked stress; ↑ caspase-independent death	Unknown selectivity; normal-cell cytotoxicity not adequately resolved	G	Cell death induction	Strongest modern isolated-DTS mechanism; most relevant where apoptosis resistance limits therapy response.
2	RSK1 and MAPK signaling	↓ RSK1 activity; MAPK modulation context-dependent	Potential signaling effects unclear	R/G	Proliferation signaling disruption	DTS literature emphasizes kinase inhibition or ERK/MAPK suppression; direction should be treated as context-dependent.
3	Glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation	↓ glucose uptake; ↓ OCR; ↓ ATP; ↓ proliferative metabolites	Unknown; potential energy-metabolism liability in high-demand normal tissues not defined	G	Metabolic growth constraint	Important for leukemia models and drug-resistant tumor metabolism, but extract-specific and not yet PK-linked.
4	ROS increase secondary	↑ ROS in some leukemia models; antiproliferative stress	Possible oxidative stress at high or poorly standardized exposure	R/G	Stress amplification	ROS appears mechanistically relevant but not universal; avoid assuming NRF2 direction without model-specific data.
5	NRF2 antioxidant response	↔ insufficient direct evidence for consistent modulation	↔ insufficient direct evidence	G	Uncertain stress-response adaptation	Do not list as a core Anamu mechanism unless a specific study reports NRF2 or downstream antioxidant targets.
6	Migration and metastasis programs	↓ migration; ↓ metastasis-related behavior; ↓ tumor burden in murine AML model	Unknown	G	Invasion suppression	Preclinical evidence supports antimetastatic potential, but clinical relevance remains unproven.
7	Immune and cytokine balance	↓ immunosuppressive tumor burden signals in murine leukemia context	↑ or ↔ cytokine modulation; Th1/Th2 shift reported historically	G	Host immune modulation	Potential adjunctive axis; not sufficiently validated for clinical cancer use.
8	CYP1A carcinogen activation	↓ CYP1A-mediated procarcinogen activation potential	↓ CYP1A activity possible	R/G	Chemoprevention-like enzyme inhibition	DTS was reported as a direct reversible competitive CYP1A inhibitor; this is more relevant to carcinogen activation than treatment of established tumors.
9	Cell cycle arrest	↑ growth arrest; ↓ proliferation	Unknown	G	Antiproliferative effect	Likely downstream of metabolic and kinase stress rather than an independent primary mechanism.
10	Clinical Translation Constraint	Extract heterogeneity; limited human cancer efficacy data; uncertain achievable exposure	Pregnancy concern; genotoxicity signals; possible liver injury; supplement quality variability	G	Limits clinical deployment	Not an approved oncology drug; standardized clinical extract data should not be generalized to all commercial Anamu products.

P: 0–30 min R: 30 min–3 hr G: >3 hr

ROS, Reactive Oxygen Species: Click to Expand ⟱

Source: HalifaxProj (inhibit)

Type:

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive molecules that contain oxygen and can lead to oxidative stress in cells. They play a dual role in cancer biology, acting as both promoters and suppressors of cancer.
ROS can cause oxidative damage to DNA, leading to mutations that may contribute to cancer initiation and progression. So normally you want to inhibit ROS to prevent cell mutations.
However excessive ROS can induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells, potentially limiting tumor growth. Chemotherapy typically raises ROS.
-mitochondria is the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (and the ETC is heavily related)
ROS Homeostasis in Cancer Cells and Its Potential as a Therapeutic Target

"Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are two electron reduction products of oxygen, including superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, lipid peroxides, protein peroxides and peroxides formed in nucleic acids 1. They are maintained in a dynamic balance by a series of reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions in biological systems and act as signaling molecules to drive cellular regulatory pathways."
"During different stages of cancer formation, abnormal ROS levels play paradoxical roles in cell growth and death 8. A physiological concentration of ROS that maintained in equilibrium is necessary for normal cell survival. Ectopic ROS accumulation promotes cell proliferation and consequently induces malignant transformation of normal cells by initiating pathological conversion of physiological signaling networks. Excessive ROS levels lead to cell death by damaging cellular components, including proteins, lipid bilayers, and chromosomes. Therefore, both scavenging abnormally elevated ROS to prevent early neoplasia and facilitating ROS production to specifically kill cancer cells are promising anticancer therapeutic strategies, in spite of their contradictoriness and complexity."
"ROS are the collection of derivatives of molecular oxygen that occur in biology, which can be categorized into two types, free radicals and non-radical species. The non-radical species are hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2 ), organic hydroperoxides (ROOH), singlet molecular oxygen ( 1 O 2 ), electronically excited carbonyl, ozone (O3 ), hypochlorous acid (HOCl, and hypobromous acid HOBr). Free radical species are super-oxide anion radical (O 2•−), hydroxyl radical (•OH), peroxyl radical (ROO•) and alkoxyl radical (RO•) [130]. Any imbalance of ROS can lead to adverse effects. H2 O 2 and O 2 •− are the main redox signalling agents. The cellular concentration of H2 O 2 is about 10−8 M, which is almost a thousand times more than that of O2 •−".
"Radicals are molecules with an odd number of electrons in the outer shell [393,394]. A pair of radicals can be formed by breaking a chemical bond or electron transfer between two molecules."

Recent investigations have documented that polyphenols with good antioxidant activity may exhibit pro-oxidant activity in the presence of copper ions, which can induce apoptosis in various cancer cell lines but not in normal cells. "We have shown that such cell growth inhibition by polyphenols in cancer cells is reversed by copper-specific sequestering agent neocuproine to a significant extent whereas iron and zinc chelators are relatively ineffective, thus confirming the role of endogenous copper in the cytotoxic action of polyphenols against cancer cells. Therefore, this mechanism of mobilization of endogenous copper." > Ions could be one of the important mechanisms for the cytotoxic action of plant polyphenols against cancer cells and is possibly a common mechanism for all plant polyphenols. In fact, similar results obtained with four different polyphenolic compounds in this study, namely apigenin, luteolin, EGCG, and resveratrol, strengthen this idea.
Interestingly, the normal breast epithelial MCF10A cells have earlier been shown to possess no detectable copper as opposed to breast cancer cells [24], which may explain their resistance to polyphenols apigenin- and luteolin-induced growth inhibition as observed here (Fig. 1). We have earlier proposed [25] that this preferential cytotoxicity of plant polyphenols toward cancer cells is explained by the observation made several years earlier, which showed that copper levels in cancer cells are significantly elevated in various malignancies. Thus, because of higher intracellular copper levels in cancer cells, it may be predicted that the cytotoxic concentrations of polyphenols required would be lower in these cells as compared to normal cells."

Majority of ROS are produced as a by-product of oxidative phosphorylation, high levels of ROS are detected in almost all cancers.
-It is well established that during ER stress, cytosolic calcium released from the ER is taken up by the mitochondrion to stimulate ROS overgeneration and the release of cytochrome c, both of which lead to apoptosis.

Note: Products that may raise ROS can be found using this database, by:
Filtering on the target of ROS, and selecting the Effect Direction of ↑

Targets to raise ROS (to kill cancer cells):
• NADPH oxidases (NOX): NOX enzymes are involved in the production of ROS.
    -Targeting NOX enzymes can increase ROS levels and induce cancer cell death.
    -eNOX2 inhibition leads to a high NADH/NAD⁺ ratio which can lead to increased ROS
• Mitochondrial complex I: Inhibiting can increase ROS production
• P53: Activating p53 can increase ROS levels(by inducing the expression of pro-oxidant genes)
• Nrf2 inhibition: regulates the expression of antioxidant genes. Inhibiting Nrf2 can increase ROS levels
• Glutathione (GSH): an antioxidant. Depleting GSH can increase ROS levels
• Catalase: Catalase converts H2O2 into H2O+O. Inhibiting catalase can increase ROS levels
• SOD1: converts superoxide into hydrogen peroxide. Inhibiting SOD1 can increase ROS levels
• PI3K/AKT pathway: regulates cell survival and metabolism. Inhibiting can increase ROS levels
• HIF-1α inhibition: regulates genes involved in metabolism and angiogenesis. Inhibiting HIF-1α can increase ROS
• Glycolysis: Inhibiting glycolysis can increase ROS levels • Fatty acid oxidation: Cancer cells often rely on fatty acid oxidation for energy production.
-Inhibiting fatty acid oxidation can increase ROS levels
• ER stress: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress can increase ROS levels
• Autophagy: process by which cells recycle damaged organelles and proteins.
-Inhibiting autophagy can increase ROS levels and induce cancer cell death.
• KEAP1/Nrf2 pathway: regulates the expression of antioxidant genes.
    -Inhibiting KEAP1 or activating Nrf2 can increase ROS levels and induce cancer cell death.
• DJ-1: regulates the expression of antioxidant genes. Inhibiting DJ-1 can increase ROS levels
• PARK2: regulates the expression of antioxidant genes. Inhibiting PARK2 can increase ROS levels
• SIRT1 inhibition:regulates the expression of antioxidant genes. Inhibiting SIRT1 can increase ROS levels
• AMPK activation: regulates energy metabolism and can increase ROS levels when activated.
• mTOR inhibition: regulates cell growth and metabolism. Inhibiting mTOR can increase ROS levels
• HSP90 inhibition: regulates protein folding and can increase ROS levels when inhibited.
• Proteasome: degrades damaged proteins. Inhibiting the proteasome can increase ROS levels
• Lipid peroxidation: a process by which lipids are oxidized, leading to the production of ROS.
    -Increasing lipid peroxidation can increase ROS levels
• Ferroptosis: form of cell death that is regulated by iron and lipid peroxidation.
    -Increasing ferroptosis can increase ROS levels
• Mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP): regulates mitochondrial permeability.
    -Opening the mPTP can increase ROS levels
• BCL-2 family proteins: regulate apoptosis and can increase ROS levels when inhibited.
• Caspase-independent cell death: a form of cell death that is regulated by ROS.
    -Increasing caspase-independent cell death can increase ROS levels
• DNA damage response: regulates the repair of DNA damage. Increasing DNA damage can increase ROS
• Epigenetic regulation: process by which gene expression is regulated.
    -Increasing epigenetic regulation can increase ROS levels

-PKM2, but not PKM1, can be inhibited by direct oxidation of cysteine 358 as an adaptive response to increased intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS)

ProOxidant Strategy:(inhibit the Mevalonate Pathway (likely will also inhibit GPx)
-HydroxyCitrate (HCA) found as supplement online and typically used in a dose of about 1.5g/day or more
-Atorvastatin typically 40-80mg/day, -Dipyridamole typically 200mg 2x/day Combined effect research
-Lycopene typically 100mg/day range (note debatable as it mainly lowers NRF2)

Dual Role of Reactive Oxygen Species and their Application in Cancer Therapy

ROS-Inducing Interventions in Cancer — Canonical + Mechanistic Reference
-generated from AI and Cancer database
ROS rating:  +++ strong | ++ moderate | + weak | ± mixed | 0 none
NRF2:        ↓ suppressed | ↑ activated | ± mixed | 0 none
Conditions:  [D] dose  [Fe] metal  [M] metabolic  [O₂] oxygen
             [L] light [F] formulation [T] tumor-type [C] combination


Item  ROS↑  NRF2  Condition  Mechanism Class  Remarks  

ROS">Piperlongumine
+++  ↓  [D][T]  ROS-dominant
Selective <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> stressor, Prevents compensatory upregulation of NRF2, ie GSH↓



ROS">Shikonin
+++ ↓/± [D][T] ROS-dominant
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> + glycolysis + GPX4 inhibition



ROS">Vitamin K3 (menadione)
+++ ↓ [D] ROS-dominant
Quinone redox cycler; toxicity limits use



ROS">Copper (ionic / nano)
+++ ↓ [Fe][F] ROS-dominant
Fenton-type redox chemistry



ROS">Sodium Selenite
+++ ↓ [D] ROS-dominant
Pro-oxidant, depletes GSH



ROS">Juglone
+++ ↓ [D] ROS-dominant
Strong quinone <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> chemistry



ROS">Auranofin
+++ ↓ [D] ROS-dominant
TrxR inhibition → redox collapse



ROS">Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)
+++ 0 [L][O₂] ROS-dominant
Singlet oxygen is core cytotoxic mechanism



ROS">Radiotherapy / Radiation
+++ 0 [O₂] ROS-dominant
DNA damage largely via <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>



ROS">Doxorubicin
+++ ↓ [D] ROS-dominant
Chemo; redox cycling + mitochondrial <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>



ROS">Cisplatin
++ ↓ [D][T] ROS-dominant
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> contributes to DNA/protein damage



ROS">Salinomycin
++ ↓ [D][T] ROS-dominant
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>-mediated CSC toxicity



ROS">Artemisinin / DHA
++ ↓ [Fe][T] ROS-dominant
Iron-activated radical generation



ROS">Sulfasalazine
++ ↓ [C][T] ROS-dominant
Ferroptosis; xCT inhibition → lipid <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>



ROS">FMD / fasting
++ ↓ [M][C][O₂] ROS-dominant
Metabolic stress → mitochondrial <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>



ROS">Vitamin C (pharmacologic)
++ ↓ [Fe][D] ROS-dominant
Extracellular H₂O₂ at high dose



ROS">Silver nanoparticles
++ ± [F][D] ROS-dominant
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> common; selectivity unreliable



ROS">Gambogic acid
++ ↓ [D][T] ROS-dominant
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>-mediated apoptosis



ROS">Parthenolide
++ ↓ [D][T] ROS-dominant
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> + NF-κB suppression



ROS">Plumbagin
++ ↓ [D] ROS-dominant
Quinone <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> driver



ROS">Allicin
++ ↓ [D] ROS-dominant
Thiol-reactive oxidative stress



ROS">Ashwagandha (Withaferin A)
++ ↓ [D][T] ROS-dominant
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>-mediated apoptosis



ROS">Berberine
++ ↓ [D][M] ROS-dominant
Mitochondrial <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> induction



ROS">PEITC
++ ↓ [D][C] ROS-dominant
GSH depletion + <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>



ROS">Methionine restriction
+ ↓ [M][C][T] ROS-secondary
Redox vulnerability increased; <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> indirect



ROS">DCA
+ ± [M][T] ROS-secondary
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> via forced OXPHOS



ROS">Capsaicin
+ ± [D][T] ROS-secondary
Ca²⁺ stress → <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span>



ROS">Galloflavin
+ 0 [D] ROS-secondary
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> not primary driver



ROS">Piperine
+ ± [D][F] ROS-secondary
Weak <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> induction



ROS">Propyl gallate
+ ↓ [D] ROS-secondary
Pro-oxidant at high dose



ROS">Scoulerine
+ ? [D][T] ROS-secondary
Sparse <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> data



ROS">Thymoquinone
± ± [D][T] Dual redox
Antioxidant ↔ pro-oxidant switch



ROS">Emodin
± ± [D][T] Dual redox
Not cancer-exclusive



ROS">Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)
± ↑ [D][M] NRF2-dominant
Antioxidant at low dose



ROS">Curcumin
± ↑/↓ [D][F] NRF2-dominant
Hormetic redox behavior



ROS">EGCG
± ↑/↓ [D][O₂] NRF2-dominant
Auto-oxidation artifacts common



ROS">Quercetin
± ↑/↓ [D][Fe] NRF2-dominant
GSH-dependent cycling



ROS">Resveratrol
± ↑ [D][M] NRF2-dominant
<span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> only at high dose



ROS">Sulforaphane
± ↑↑ [D] NRF2-dominant
Strong NRF2 activator



ROS">Lycopene
0 ↑ — Antioxidant
Consistently antioxidant



ROS">Rosmarinic acid
0 ↑ — Antioxidant
Primarily antioxidant



ROS">Citrate
0 0 — Neutral
Metabolic; not a <span class="wphighlight">ROS</span> agent

Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱

6599-

Anamu,

Potential behavioral and pro-oxidant effects of Petiveria alliacea L. extract in adult rats

*Dose↝, *motorD↑, *memory↑, *ROS↑,

6601-

Anamu,

Petiveria alliacea Reduces Tumor Burden and Metastasis and Regulates the Peripheral Immune Response in a Murine Myeloid Leukemia Model

in-vitro,

AML,

AntiTum↑, GlucoseCon↓, ROS↑, TumCP↓, eff↓, Glycolysis↓,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 2 of 2

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 2

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:

Functional Outcomes(tgid=23) ⓘ

AntiTum↑, 1,
Total Targets: 6

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:

Redox & Oxidative Stress(tgid=1) ⓘ

ROS↑, 1,

Drug Metabolism & Resistance(tgid=21) ⓘ

Dose↝, 1,

Functional Outcomes(tgid=23) ⓘ

memory↑, 1, motorD↑, 1,
Total Targets: 4

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: ROS, Reactive Oxygen Species

Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:193  Target#:275  State#:%  Dir#:%
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

DTS(dibenzyl trisulphide) from Anamu / ROS Cancer Research Results

Anamu Mechanistic Profile

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:

Redox & Oxidative Stress(tgid=1) ⓘ

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis(tgid=4) ⓘ

Migration(tgid=13) ⓘ

Drug Metabolism & Resistance(tgid=21) ⓘ

Functional Outcomes(tgid=23) ⓘ

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:

Redox & Oxidative Stress(tgid=1) ⓘ

Drug Metabolism & Resistance(tgid=21) ⓘ

Functional Outcomes(tgid=23) ⓘ

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