Vitexin activates the Vitamin D Receptor to fight Colon Cancer - Jan 2025

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Harnessing the Power of Vitexin as a Vitamin D Receptor Agonist in Colorectal Cancer: A New Frontier - behind paywall - Jan 2025

Balkan Med J. 2025 Jan 15. doi: 10.4274/balkanmedj.galenos.2024.2024-10-105
Manahil Mubeen 1, Hafsa Ali 2, Syeda Sabika Zehra 1, Aman Khan 1

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What is Vitexin - Perplexity AI Jan 2025

Vitexin is an apigenin flavone glycoside, a natural compound found in various food and medicinal plants  1  3
. This important flavonoid can be found in several sources including:

• Passion flower
• Bamboo leaves
• Pearl millet
• Hawthorn berries
• Mung beans
• Buckwheat
• Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)
• Fenugreek seeds

Pharmacological Properties
Antioxidant Effects
Vitexin acts as a powerful antioxidant by neutralizing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reducing lipid peroxidation  1  2
. It enhances antioxidant enzyme activities and protects against oxidative stress-induced cellular damage  4
.Neuroprotective Effects
The compound demonstrates significant neuroprotective properties by reducing brain edema, neuronal cell death, and blood-brain barrier breakdown  1
. It improves neurogenesis and memory function while helping alleviate neurodegenerative disorders  2
.Anti-inflammatory Properties
Vitexin exhibits strong anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting inflammatory cytokines and promoting anti-inflammatory molecules  2
. It helps reduce inflammation-associated pain and supports healthy inflammatory responses  1
.Cardiovascular Benefits
The compound provides cardioprotective effects by:

• Decreasing myocardial infarct size
• Reducing cardiac enzyme activities
• Protecting vascular endothelial cells
• Supporting healthy blood circulation  2 4

Additional Benefits

• Supports healthy blood sugar levels
• Demonstrates anti-cancer properties
• Shows antimicrobial effects
• Helps maintain pancreatic health
• Exhibits antiviral properties   2 4  5

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Is it an activator of the Vitamin D Receptor (spoiler: Yes) - Perplexity AI Jan 2025

Recent research has revealed that vitexin is indeed a novel VDR (Vitamin D Receptor) agonist.
Here are the key findings about its interaction with VDR:
Mechanism of Action
Direct VDR Targeting
Vitexin specifically targets the VDR protein and facilitates its translocation into the cell nucleus
where it can exert transcriptional activity  2  4
.Transcriptional Regulation
The compound functions through the VDR/PBLD (phenazine biosynthesis-like domain protein) signaling pathway, regulating transcriptional activation  2
Therapeutic Effects
Anti-Cancer Properties
Vitexin's activation of VDR shows particular promise in treating colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). It helps mitigate the progression from chronic colitis to colorectal cancer through:

• Promoting macrophage polarization toward the M1 phenotype
• Modulating the tumor microenvironment
• Activating the VDR/PBLD pathway  2  4

Validation Studies
The role of vitexin as a VDR agonist has been confirmed through multiple experimental approaches:

• Co-culture models of macrophages and cancer cells
• ChIP-seq analysis
• Dual luciferase reporter assays
• Mouse models with VDR gene knockout  2

These findings establish vitexin as a legitimate VDR agonist with therapeutic potential, particularly in inflammatory and cancer-related conditions.

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VitaminDWiki – Cancer - Colon category contains:

• Cancer - Colon category listing has 146 items

• 16 factors increase the risk of early-onset colorectal cancer, only vitamin D decreases the risk – meta-analysis May 2023
• 25+ Colon Cancer meta-analyses
• Colon cancer risk increases 30X if you have the worst vitamin D receptor mutation – Jan 2021
• Cancer - After diagnosis category listing has 116 items along with related searches
• see also:
  Overview Cancer-Colon and vitamin D.   Overview Cancer and vitamin D  Overview Gut and vitamin D   Cancer and Vitamin D - many studies

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VitaminDWiki - Vitamin D Receptor activation can be increased in many ways

Resveratrol,  Omega-3,  Magnesium,  Zinc,   Quercetin,   non-daily Vit D,  Curcumin,   Berberine,  intense exercise, Butyrate   Sulforaphane   Ginger,   Essential oils, etc  Note: The founder of VitaminDWiki uses 10 of the 16 known VDR activators

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VitaminDWiki - 14 studies in both categories Colon Cancer and Vitamin D Receptor

This list is automatically updated

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Please compare Vitexin with Butyrate in fighting colon cancer - Perplexity AI Jan 2025

Mechanism of Action
Vitexin

• Induces apoptosis by suppressing autophagy in cancer cells  2
• Inhibits COX-2 expression and NF-κB activity  8
• Shows particular effectiveness against multi-drug resistant cancer cells  2
• Works synergistically with aspirin to enhance anti-cancer effects  8

Butyrate

• Functions as an HDAC inhibitor in cancer cells due to the Warburg effect  14
• Suppresses glucose metabolism in cancer cells  3
• Reduces GLUT1 membrane content and glucose uptake  3
• Enhances the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs like 5-fluorouracil  1

Effectiveness

Aspect	Vitexin	Butyrate
Dose Range	5-100 µM effective in vitro 2	2.5-20 mM effective in vitro 1
Cell Death Mechanism	Induces apoptosis through caspase activation 2	Promotes apoptosis through HDAC inhibition 14
Drug Resistance	Overcomes multi-drug resistance 2	Can develop resistance with prolonged exposure 5
Combination Therapy	Works well with aspirin 8	Enhances effects of irinotecan and 5-fluorouracil 1

Unique Properties
Vitexin Advantages

• Effectively kills drug-resistant cancer cells  2
• Shows consistent dose-dependent effects  2
• Demonstrates both in vitro and in vivo efficacy  2

Butyrate Advantages

• Serves as energy source for healthy colonocytes while killing cancer cells  14
• Shows selective toxicity between normal and cancer cells  14
• Improves intestinal barrier function while fighting cancer  17

Both compounds show promising anti-cancer properties but work through different mechanisms,
suggesting potential complementary use in cancer treatment.