A traditional Chinese medicine formula and two of its key components may fight prostate cancer by pushing tumour cells into ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death, according to a study published in Biological Procedures Online. Researchers report that the formula, known as Fuzheng Yiai Formula (FZYAF), and its constituents ursolic acid (UA) and Anhydroicaritin (AHI) appear to act on the tumour-suppressor protein TP53, a pathway linked to the ferroptosis machinery involving SLC7A11 and GPX4.
The team began with network pharmacology, a computational approach that maps the molecular relationships between a multi-component remedy and human disease targets, and then verified the predictions experimentally using HPLC-MS analysis. Together, these methods identified UA and AHI as the key active components of FZYAF and flagged TP53 as a core target through which the formula might exert its antitumor effects in prostate cancer (PCa).
In laboratory experiments, human PCa cells treated with UA and AHI showed reduced proliferation and reduced migration, two behaviours central to cancer progression. The treatments also induced ferroptosis in the cells. Notably, when the two compounds were applied in combination, the effect was stronger than with either compound alone, suggesting a synergistic interaction between the two plant-derived molecules.
The work then moved into animal models. The team established a PCa mouse model and analysed tumour tissue from FZYAF-treated mice using metabolomics, a technique that profiles the small metabolic molecules in a sample. The analysis showed that FZYAF inhibited tumour growth in the mice and induced ferroptosis, and that these effects were associated with alterations in lipid metabolism-related pathways.
By binding to and upregulating TP53, UA and AHI may tip this balance toward ferroptotic cell death in prostate tumour cells.
Several caveats are worth keeping in view. The published version is an early-release, peer-reviewed accepted manuscript that may still undergo editorial changes before the final version of record. The in vivo work relied on mouse models rather than human trials, and the metabolomic findings describe associations with lipid metabolism pathways rather than a fully resolved causal chain. The study itself noted that the mechanisms of action of FZYAF and its key components in prostate cancer had previously remained unclear, and the findings were limited to cell and mouse models. Clinical application would require dosing, safety and efficacy studies in humans, none of which are reported here.
Even so, the study offers a concrete molecular story connecting a traditional formula to a modern cell-death pathway: two identified components, a verified protein target, enhanced effects in combination, and tumour growth inhibition in mice accompanied by ferroptosis and lipid-metabolism changes.
Subject of Research: Ferroptosis-based inhibition of prostate cancer by traditional Chinese medicine compounds targeting TP53
Article Title: Fuzheng Yiai Formula and its Key Components Inhibited PCa by TP53/SLC7A11/GPX4-Induced Ferroptosis
Article References: Sheng, W., Li, Y., Yu, X., Zeng, X., Jiang, Y., Wu, Q., Shen, F., Ouyang, X., & He, Q. (2026). Fuzheng Yiai Formula and its Key Components Inhibited PCa by TP53/SLC7A11/GPX4-Induced Ferroptosis. Biological Procedures Online. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12575-026-00357-x
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12575-026-00357-x
Keywords: prostate cancer, ferroptosis, TP53, ursolic acid, Anhydroicaritin, Fuzheng Yiai Formula, network pharmacology, metabolomics, SLC7A11, GPX4, traditional Chinese medicine, cancer research
News Source: Nathaniel Bowman. (October 30, 2026). Traditional Chinese Medicine Compounds Trigger Cancer Cell Ferroptosis via TP53. Scienmag.
