Dehydroeffusol (Dehydro Effusol) possesses anti-cancer, anxiolytic and sedative properties. Dehydroeffusol inhibits gastric cancer cell growth and tumorigenicity by selectively inducing tumor-suppressive endoplasmic reticulum stress and a moderate apoptosis.

Dehydroeffusol selectively activated the intracellular tumor suppressive stress response by promoting the overexpression of the key ER stress marker DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3), through upregulation of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4). Concurrently, Dehydroeffusol suppressed the expression of the cell survival and ER stress marker glucose regulated protein of molecular mass 78 (GRP78) via downregulation of the transcription factor ATF6. In addition, Dehydroeffusolmarkedly activated the stress response signaling pathway MEKK4-MKK3/6-p38-DDIT3, but significantly inhibited ERK signaling[1].