The dietary flavonoid naringenin has been found to regulate the PKD2 protein responsible for polycystic kidney disease.
Found in grapefruits and other citrus fruits, naringenin inhibited the formation of cysts in vitro and in a mammalian kidney cell line.
When PKD2 levels were reduced in the cells, the block in cyst formation was also reduced. Mark A. Carew, PhD, of Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, U.K., and fellow researchers stated in the British Journal of Pharmacology that further studies will investigate naringenin as a potential new therapeutic agent in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.
