Pheophorbide a is a chlorophyll-related compound studied for it’s anti-tumor & anti-cancer activity.
Pheophorbide-a has been used as a photosensitizer:
- for the photodynamic therapy (PDT) in oral cancer cell lines
- to test its effect on inducing oxidative stress and death in L. amazonensis
- to test its effect on the viability of HeLa cells
ChEBI: Pheophorbide a is a pheophorbide. It is a conjugate acid of a pheophorbide a(2-).
Pheophorbide-a, due to its photosensitizing effect, may serve as a promising bioactive compound to treat leishmaniasis. It is a metabolite of chlorophyll and possesses immunostimulation functionality. Pheophorbide-a is a photosensitizer for the photodynamic therapy. It is an ATP Binding Cassette Subfamily G Member 2 (ABCG2) transporter specific substrate. Overexpression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters in cancer cells is associated with the multidrug resistance phenotype.
This chlorophyll a degradation intermediate (MW = 579.68 g/mol; CAS 15664-29-6), which is identical to chlorophyll a, except for the absence of the latter’s magnesium ion and ester at the 17-position, is obtained by acid hydrolysis of chlorophyll a. Pheophorbide a inhibits acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase and magnesium protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase, acts as an endothelin receptor antagonist, and also induces apoptosis. Pheophorbide a is also as an anti-tumor promoter.
