Researchers have found that cane toad poison kills off prostate cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.
Dr Harendra Parekh from the University of Queensland said a student had discovered Australia’s toad to be similar to the Asiatic toad which has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
“We have what we believe is a selectively toxic agent which can kill tumour cells but spare healthy cells,” he said.
In China medicine made from toad poison is called chan su and is used to treat heart failure, sore throats, skin conditions and other ailments.
During her studies PhD student Dr Jing Jing was able to show that the poison from cane toads was very effective at killing cancer cells, and in particular prostate cancer cells, Dr Parekh said.
But while the drug has been used for a long time in Asia it can be dangerous in its raw form, and Dr Parekh and his team had been trying to make the drug more soluble.
“Once we determine that the toxicity has been sustained, even after increasing solubility, the next stage will involve packaging it in innovative drug delivery systems, sent to cancer tissue,” he said.
The team at the Queensland university’s Pharmacy Australia Centre of Excellence has received a grant from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a Chinese research institute.