Compound found in octopus ink kills cancer cells but not others

A compound found inside octopus ink has been created artificially in the lab and used to kill cancer cells. The development could eventually lead to new cancer treatments.

Martín Samuel Hernández-Zazueta at the University of Sonora in Mexico and his colleagues had previously identified a compound called ozopromide (OPC) that is found in the ink sac of common octopuses (Octopus vulgaris) as one of interest for its anti-cancer properties.

The researchers used a series of standard chemical reactions that allowed …