College of Pharmacy, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
Phytomedicine. 2012 Feb 15;19(3-4):293-300. doi: 10.1016/j.phymed.2011.08.066. Epub 2011 Oct 15.
Pulsatilla chinensis (Bunge) Regel is a Chinese medicinal herb for "blood-cooling" and detoxification. Now it is used for the treatment of malignant tumor, but the antitumor mechanisms and toxic side effects of P. chinensis are unclear. The present study was undertaken to investigate if P. chinensis saponins (PRS) possesses anticancer effects and toxic side effects in human liver tumor 7402 cells in vitro and vivo. 7402 cells were treated with different concentrations of PRS for 24h. Cell viability was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Cell apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. The in vivo effect of PRS on 7402 tumor cells transplanted in athymic nude mice was investigated. 15 saponins were isolated and identified from PRS. PRS inhibited the proliferation of human liver tumor 7402 cells in vitro by apoptosis. 19 days after administration of PRS (100, 200mg/kg), the weight of tumor mass was markly decreased in nude mice. The anti-tumor effect of PRS in vivo was associated with a significant increase in the 7402 apoptosis rate. Although PRS inhibited the weight of mice, it showed almost no effect on leukocyte number, liver and spleen weight index. Light microscopic histopathological examination showed that PRS had no specific lesion in organ. These results suggested that P. chinensis saponins exert potential anticancer activity in treating tumors in nude mice and no toxic side effects.
白头翁是一种具有“凉血解毒”功效的中药。现在被用于治疗恶性肿瘤，但白头翁的抗肿瘤机制和毒副作用尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨白头翁总皂苷（PRS）在体外和体内是否对人肝癌 7402 细胞具有抗癌作用和毒副作用。用不同浓度的 PRS 处理 7402 细胞 24h。用 3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2-基)-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴盐（MTT）法测定细胞活力。用流式细胞术评估细胞凋亡。研究了 PRS 对荷瘤裸鼠体内 7402 肿瘤细胞的影响。从 PRS 中分离鉴定出 15 种甾体皂苷。PRS 通过凋亡抑制人肝癌 7402 细胞在体外的增殖。给药 19 天后（100、200mg/kg），裸鼠肿瘤质量明显减轻。PRS 的体内抗肿瘤作用与 7402 细胞凋亡率的显著增加有关。虽然 PRS 抑制了小鼠的体重，但对白细胞数、肝脾重量指数几乎没有影响。光镜组织病理学检查显示，PRS 对各器官无特异性病变。这些结果表明，白头翁总皂苷对荷瘤裸鼠具有潜在的抗癌活性，无毒副作用。
