Scientists have found that a component of grapefruit and other citrus fruits can successfully block the formation of kidney cysts.
Known as polycystic kidney disease, kidney cysts are an inherited disorder which lead to the loss of kidney function, high blood pressure and the need for dialysis. Few treatment options are currently available.
The team of scientists from Royal Holloway University, St George's University of London and Kingston University London used a simple, single-celled amoeba to identify that the grapefruit component - naringenin - regulates the PKD2 protein responsible for polycystic kidney disease and, as a result, blocks formation of cysts.
Professor Robin Williams, from the School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, said: 'This discovery provides an important step forward in understanding how polycystic kidney disease may be controlled. In the study, we have demonstrated how effective the amoeba Dictyostelium is in the discovery of new treatments and their targets.
'Having previously applied the same method of testing in our work into epilepsy and bipolar treatments, it is clear that this new approach could help us reduce reliance on animal testing and provide major improvements.'
'This study provides a good example of how chemicals identified in plants can help us develop new drugs for the treatment of disease,' Professor Debbie Baines from St George's, added.
The study was published in British Journal of Pharmacology.
