Carcinogenic activity of petasitenine, a new pyrrolizidine alkaloid isolated from Petasites japonicus Maxim.

The carcinogenic activity of petasitenine, a new pyrrolizidine alkaloid isolated from young flower stalk of Petasites japonicus, was studied in ACI rats. All rats that had received a 0.05% solution of petasitenine in drinking water died or were killed in moribund condition 72 days after the start of experiment. They showed necrosis, hemorrhage, and remarkable proliferation of the bile ducts in the liver. In another group that had received a 0.01% solution, 8 of 10 animals surviving beyond 160 days developed tumors in the liver, i.e., hemangioendothelial sarcomas in 5 rats and liver cell adenomas in 5 rats, 2 of which simultaneously developed hemangioendothelial sarcomas. No tumors were observed in the livers of the control animals.