Indeewarie Dissanayake
The in vitro antiproliferative activity and mechanism of action of five selected Australian native fruits against the MCF7 breast adenocarcinoma cells
Breast cancer poses a great burden globally and especially in Australia, where the rate of diagnosis is highest. Current therapeutic practices have been shown to be associated with multiple side effects that impact patients' quality of life. Native Australian fruit has been an essential food and medicinal source for Indigenous Australians for thousands of years, and has recently become popular among modern Australians. There are, however, limited studies of Australian fruit, their chemical composition and therapeutic efficacy. In particular, few studies have elucidated their anticancer effects and mechanism of action against breast cancer.
This MRes project aims to investigate five Australian native fruits- Illawarra Plum (Podocarpus elatus), Kakadu Plum (Terminalia ferdinandiana), native currant (Acrotriche depressa), lemon aspen (Acronychia acidula), and Davidson’s plum (Davidsonia pruriens), for their potential in vitro antiproliferative activity and mechanism of action against the MCF7 breast adenocarcinoma cells. In addition, identification of potential anticancer metabolites in their extracts will also be assessed by metabolomic studies.
Supervisors:
Dr Deep Bhuyan, Professor Dennis Chang, Professor Chun Guang Li
