Antitumor effect of the stem bark of Acanthopanax senticosus HARMS (ASH) from Hokkaido (Japanese name: Ezoukogi) on human stomach cancer KATO III cells was investigated. The extract of the stem bark of ASH prepared with hot water was dissolved in distilled water and used for the assay of antitumor effect on the KATO III cells. The exposure of KATO III cells to ASH led to both growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis. Morphological change showing apoptotic bodies was observed in the cells treated with ASH. The fragmentation by ASH of DNA to oligonucleosomal-sized fragments that are characteristics of apoptosis was observed to be concentration- and time-dependent. We have investigated which component in ASH is effective on the induction of apoptosis. Among chlorogenic acid, syringaresinol di-o-beta-D glucoside, syringin, and sesamin, components of the n-butanol extract prepared from ASH, sesamin suppressed the growth and induced apoptosis in the cells. These findings suggest that growth inhibition by ASH results from the apoptosis induced by sesamin, a component of ASH.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of the lignan, arctiin, on 17-beta ethinyl estradiol promotion of preneoplastic liver cell foci development in rats.

Anti-promotional effects of arctiin, a lignan with antiestrogenic action, against 17-beta ethinyl estradiol (EE) and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) were examined using a medium-term liver bioassay based upon the induction of glutathione S-transferase placental form (GST-P) positive foci in rat liver. Male F344 rats were initially injected with diethylnitrosamine (DEN, 200 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally and two weeks later were treated with arctiin (1%), EE (1.5 ppm or 5 ppm), 2-AAF (20 ppm), arctiin + EE (1.5 ppm or 5 ppm), or arctiin + 2-AAF (20 ppm) in the diet for 6 weeks and then killed, all rats being subjected to partial hepatectomy at week 3. EE and 2-AAF clearly increased the development of GST-P foci. Antipromotional effects of arctiin were observed only for 2-AAF. These findings provide experimental evidence that arctiin exerts weak-protective potential against hepatocarcinogenesis in rats.

2-Acetylaminofluorene↗