STUDIES ON THE IN VITRO ANTITUMOR ACTIVITY OF FATTY ACIDS: IV. THE ESTERS OF ACIDS CLOSELY RELATED TO 10-HYDROXY- 2-DECENOIC ACID FROM ROYAL JELLY AGAINST TRANSPLANTABLE MOUSE LEUKEMIA

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that whole royal jelly, a fraction from royal jelly (10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid), and certain closely related dicarboxylic acids, some of which are also found in royal jelly, will inhibit the development of transplantable AKR leukemia when the pH is below 5.6.The ester of 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid from royal jelly was found to be just as effective against AKR leukemic cells as the acid itself, with the added advantage that it could be used at neutrality.Through the testing of a series of mono- and di-carboxylic acids, as well as other closely related compounds, the activity has been shown to be associated mainly with 9- and 10-carbon straight chain monocarboxylic acids either saturated or unsaturated. Slight variations in the structure either reduce or destroy the activity.