Colchicine the branded prescription medicine which is formally approved by the Food and Drug Administration – FDA for the treatment of gout, familial Mediterranean fever, secondary amyloidosis and scleroderma disorders. The side effects of this medication include gastrointestinal effect on mitosis upset and Colchicine plus molecular formula neutropenia. Initiating to take Colchicine right from the early stage of gout attacks can help aggravate the symptoms. Higher doses may also damage bone marrow and lead to anemia.

Colchicine is the water soluble alkaloid found in the autumn crocus species which blocks or suppresses cell division by restraining mitosis which is the division of cell’s nucleus. Particularly it restrains the growth of spindles as the nuclei are dividing. Generally the cell use its spindle fibers for lining up its chromosomes, imitate them and divide into the two new cells with each daughter cell having the single set of chromosomes. The presence of Colchicine prevents them to form leading the cells unable to move their chromosomes around. The cells may end up copying some or all the chromosomes but cannot transmit them out into the new cells and thus they never divide anymore.

Since cancer cells divide much faster as compared to the normal cells, cancers are more at risk of being poisoned by mitotic inhibitors like Colchicine. Anyway, Colchicine has proved of having the considerably narrow range of effectiveness as the chemotherapy agent, hence it is the only Food and Drug Administration – FDA approved use of treating gout though it is also at times used in the veterinary medicines for treating cancer in some animals. Colchicine is also used as the anti-mitotic agent in cancer research that entails cell cultures.