Researchers at UBC Okanagan have uncovered the process plants use to create mitraphylline, a rare natural compound that has attracted attention for its possible cancer fighting properties.
Mitraphylline belongs to a unique class of plant chemicals known as spirooxindole alkaloids. These molecules are recognized for their unusual twisted ring structures and their powerful biological effects, including anti inflammatory and anti tumor activity.
Even though scientists have studied these compounds for years, the exact molecular steps plants use to produce them had remained unknown.
Breakthrough Discovery in Plant Chemistry
That mystery began to unravel in 2023 when Dr. Thu-Thuy Dang's team in UBC Okanagan's Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science identified the first known plant enzyme capable of twisting a molecule into the distinctive spiro shape.
