Cancer-fighting properties of little-known cannabinoid, HU-331, have been making headlines recently. However, what exactly is the HU-331 acronym for? What’s the story behind it? Is a cancer-fighting drug with real potential?
All you need to know about this very powerful synthetic cannabinoid, and about how it impacts your overall health, is covered in the research.
WHERE DOES THE HU-331 COME FROM AND HOW IS IT MANUFACTURED?
Cannabidiol hydroxy-quinone (CBDHQ) is the chemical name for HU-331, a quinone drug made from CBD. However, this compound has been around for more than 50 years, making it a long-standing member of the cannabis community. In 1968, researchers at Hebrew University (the origin of the name “HU”) created HU-331 by oxidizing CBD with potassium hydroxide. HU-331 has been synthesized a countless number of times since then in an attempt to harness the antibiotic and anti-cancer properties it possesses.
Is it a ‘natural’ phenomenon?
Cannabinoid quinone HU-331 is not found in hemp or cannabis plants and has to be synthesized. CBD oxidation is the process used in laboratories to create it. There are six carbonyl groups in the unsaturated ring structure of the term “quinone,” which refers to a class of organic compounds with this specific chemical structure. This quinone structure can be found in many naturally occurring compounds. Bacterial, fungal, and even higher plant pigments are just a few examples.
What are the applications of QUINONE COMPOSITION LIKE HU-331?
Quinols, both natural and synthetic, are widely used as therapeutic drugs because of their biological activity. Most quinones have serious side effects like heart toxicity, which is a major drawback. However, research on HU-331 has shown that it is highly effective in the treatment of human cancer while posing no harmful side effects.
Quinones, on the other hand, are frequently used in the manufacturing process. Many natural and synthetic dyes and pigments, such as hydrogen peroxide, are manufactured on a large scale using quinones.
In the body, how does HU-331 function?
Topoisomerase type II isoforms, or TOP2 for short, are specifically inhibited by HU-331. Let’s get nerdy about DNA for a moment to understand the importance of TOP2. Double helix molecules are made up of two strands that wind around each other to form a shape known as a helix.
The “double-stranded break” that TOP2 isoforms cause is referred to by scientists as a “double-stranded break.” However, on the other hand, this is a good thing because it helps our bodies to form new, healthy cells by untangling knots and tangles in the DNA strands. It can, however, cause cancerous cells to grow out of control.
HU-331 comes into play in this situation. Inhibiting the TOP2 enzyme’s ability to generate new cancer cells is the goal of HU-331, which acts as a TOP2 isoform inhibitor and thus inhibits its activity. Studies have shown that inhibitors of TOP2 isoforms have the potential to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells.
To what extent do scientists know about the potential health benefits of Hu-331, in comparison to other Quinone Compounds?
There are anthracycline antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs in use today. Most people are familiar with the drug families daunorubicin and doxorubicin from. Anthracyclines are powerful anti-disease agents, but they can have serious side effects, including heart damage. It’s a shame that their ability to fight disease is so widely dispersed. Anthracyclines do damage to healthy cells as well as cancerous ones.
The good news is that scientists have begun investigating the therapeutic potential of HU-331 in order to gauge the drug’s potential for side effects. Hu-331 has been shown to be safer than other quinoid compounds in both in vitro and animal studies because it can target cancerous cells without affecting healthy cells.
SCIENTISTS DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT WHAT IT DOES TO PREVENT CANCER.
Let’s go back to the lab where HU-331 was first developed to get a better idea of its anti-cancer potential. For the first time since the late 1960s, the lab at Hebrew University, where HU-331 was first synthesized, attempted to investigate its anti-cancer properties in 2001. Quinones’ anti-cancer properties were hoped to be combined with nontoxic cannabinoid molecules’ natural healing power to create a safe and effective therapeutic.
Scientists found that HU-331, an oxidized derivative of CBD, can reduce tumors and work against human cancer cells in culture and in vivo tumor grafts in naked mice in that study and other studies over the years.
It was found that HU-331 inhibited TOP2 enzymes, according to a study published in 2007. When it comes to developing anti-cancer drugs, scientists believe that inhibiting TOP2 isoforms could be a game changer. Apoptosis, one of the most common forms of cell death, is the focus of most anti-cancer drugs. The anthracyclines quinone group, which we discussed earlier, kills cancer cells by inducing apoptosis, which also kills healthy cells.
HU-331, on the other hand, was found to be effective in killing cancer cells without inducing apoptosis. Instead, it inhibited the cancer cells’ TOP2 isoforms, preventing them from proliferating and generating more bad cells. The body’s cells were not harmed or killed by HU-331. It has also been shown that HU-331 is able to shrink tumors without causing cardiotoxicity in mouse model systems.
According to research, the anti-cancer drug HU-331 was effective in treating a wide range of cancers including Burkitt’s lymphoma, T-cell lymphoma, glioblastoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer, among others. The more HU-331 was used, the better it worked and the more cancer cells were killed. The most sensitive cancers were Burkitt’s lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma, which were both reduced by 50% by HU-331. These findings confirm that HU-331 effectively inhibits the growth of cancer cells in a wide variety of different cell types.
What other properties have been discovered by research?
HU-331’s ability to inactivate CYP450 enzyme activity in mice was previously examined in a 1991 study due to the reactivity of quinone compounds. CYP enzymes are crucial in the metabolism of medications in our bodies. The faster and more intensely we can feel the therapeutic effects of certain medications, the better our bodies will be able to metabolize them.
The study found that HU-331 was more effective at inhibiting CYP enzymes than CBD alone, indicating that it could deliver anti-cancer drugs more effectively and more quickly to our systems.
DESCRIBE THE TYPE OF PSYCHOACTIVE IMPACT IT HAS
Hu-331 appears to have no psychoactive effects because it is a product of CBD (the most abundant non-psychoactive cannabinoid in the cannabis plant).
Is it safe?
In spite of the fact that other quinonoid compounds are effective in treating a wide range of cancers, their side effects—the most severe of which is cumulative heart toxicity—limit their use. While HU-331 is less toxic and more potent, HU-331 has a more narrow target audience. For this reason, it is a safer option for medical treatment.
However, other proteins and enzymes in our bodies may be affected by HU-331 in ways that have yet to be discovered. HU-331 likely interacts with TOP2’s ATPase domain when inhibiting TOP2 enzymes. Energy is stored and transferred between cells in a similar manner to how money is stored in banks. Despite the fact that HU-331 appears to be effective in reducing cancer cells, it may interfere with the ATP energy transfer process in other cells. Our investigation into HU-331 needs to continue to see if it has an effect on the ATPase domain in other parts of the body.
