Research

Hormonal

Arachidonic acid exhibits schistosomicidal and tumoricidal activity by activating neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase), leading to membrane disruption and cell death in parasites and cancer cells.

While ARA has potential schistosomicidal and tumoricidal properties in laboratory settings, it is not currently a standard standalone treatment for these conditions. Its primary role remains supporting normal physiological functions like membrane integrity and immune response. Do not self-treat cancer or parasitic infections with ARA supplements without medical supervision.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
ARA was recently documented as activator of Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium tegument-associated neutral sphingomyelinase in a dose-dependent manner, eventually leading to their attrition in vitro and in vivo [74–77]. ... ARA was reported to kill tumor cells selectively in vitro via eliciting cell surface membrane lipid peroxidation...
Hatem Tallima et al. · Journal of Advanced Research · 2017

Why this rating

Review of in vitro and animal studies; some human data for schistosomiasis combination therapy.

Source

Arachidonic acid: Physiological roles and potential health benefits – A review

Hatem Tallima et al. · Journal of Advanced Research · 2017

DOI 10.1016/j.jare.2017.11.004

narrative_reviewCited 662×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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