Gossypol, a natural product isolated from cottonseeds and roots, binds to Bcl-xL protein and Bcl-2 protein with K_is of 0.5-0.6 μM and 0.2-0.3 mM, respectively.

Gossypol, a natural product isolated from cottonseeds and roots that has been studied as an anticancer agent. The racemic form of Gossypol [(±)-Gossypol] is tested in several clinical trials and is well tolerated. The racemic form Gossypol ((±)-Gossypol) binds to Bcl-xL protein with a K_i of 0.5 to 0.6 μM. (±)-Gossypol also potently binds to Bcl-2 protein with a K_i value of 0.2-0.3 mM. The natural racemic Gossypol has two enantiomers, namely the (-)-Gossypol and (+)-Gossypol enantiomers. The racemic form and each of the enantiomers of Gossypol are tested against UM-SCC-6 and UM-SCC-14A in 6-day MTT assays. (-)-Gossypol exhibits greater growth inhibition relative to (±)-Gossypol than (+)-Gossypol in both cell lines tested (P<0.001). An intermediate growth inhibitory effect is observed with (±)-Gossypol but this effect is only observed at the higher dose of Gossypol (10 μM, P<0.0001)^[1].

• [1]. Oliver CL, et al. In vitro effects of the BH3 mimetic, (-)-Gossypol, on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells. Clin Cancer Res. 2004 Nov 15;10(22):7757-63.