Amelioration effect of a tertiary sulfonium compound, dimethylsulfoniopropionate, in Green Sea Algae on ehrlich ascitic-tumor, solid tumor and related diseases

Abstract

A tertiary sulfonium compound, dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), has been studied intensively in bacteria, plankton, algae, and halophytic plants in estuarine, coastal, and oceanic waters. Moreover, DMSP is well known to be contained in large amounts in green sea algae. However, there is no report on the physiological roles except for the functions of an osmoregurant and a cryoprotectant. Therefore, we have investigated the physiological function of DMSP in the terrestrial animals suffered from inflammatory disorders, especially free cell and solid cancers. As a result, we have found that DMSP exerts significant healing effects on a wide range of immune-deficient diseases: cancer, stress-induced gastric ulcers, various symptoms with aging in senescence-accelerated mice and neurodegenerative disorders in central nervous systems (Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases) in rodents. Of great interest is that administration of DMSP cures chronic 3-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene (MeDAB)-induced solid cancers in rats and crucial free cell cancers of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma with an unavoidable rapid death in mice with no toxicity. These results demonstrate that DMSP plays a pivotal role for immunotherapy in these inflammatory disorders at the precancer state, in particular cancers.