Sandalwood Oil By-product Prevents Prostate Cancer Development in Mice

Sandalwood oil is known for its health benefits and medicinal applications from antibacterial to anticancer because of its phytochemical constituents.

By Gisele Galoustian

Ajay Bommareddy, Ph.D., senior author and an associate professor of pharmacology in the Department of Biomedical Science, FAU Schmidt College of Medicine, is one of the first to demonstrate in vivo the chemo-preventive properties of alpha-santalol against prostate cancer development using a transgenic mouse model.

Results of the study, published in the journal Phytomedicine Plus, showed that administration of alpha-santalol decreased the incidence of prostate tumors by decreasing cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis, without causing weight loss or any noticeable side effects. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a method the body uses to get rid of unneeded or abnormal cells such as cancer cells.

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