Department of Nutrition, Hungkuang University, 34 Chung-Chie Road, Shalu, Taichung 43302, Taiwan.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Oct 11;143(3):914-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.08.032. Epub 2012 Sep 1.
Echinacea is a top-selling herbal supplement that acts as immunostimulant. It has been used to treat common cold, coughs, bronchitis and upper respiratory infections. It is also a popular product used in anticancer therapy. The cytotoxic effects of Echinacea on cancer cells are still not clear. The aims of this study were to provide a preliminary validation of the effects of 50% aqueous ethanol extract of Echinacea purpurea flowers and its major compound, cichoric acid, on human colon cancer cells Caco-2 and HCT-116.
The cytotoxic effects of Echinace flower extracts and cichoric acid on cell viability, telomerase activity, DNA fragmentation, β-catenin, caspase-9, and cleavage of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) of human colon cancer cell were examined.
The results showed a significant inhibition of proliferation in E. purpurea flower extract and cichoric acid in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cichoric acid treatment decreased telomerase activity in HCT-116 cells. Moreover, cichoric acid effectively induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells, which were characterized by DNA fragmentation, activation of caspase-9, cleavage of PARP and downregulation of β-catenin.
Our data indicate that cichoric acid has a strong growth-inhibitory effect against colon cancer cells, presumably resulting from the reduced telomerase activity and the induction of apoptosis. The exact mechanism of action should still be determined in future studies. Overall, the effects of 50% aqueous ethanol extract of E. purpurea flowers and cichoric acid may have provided in vitro evidence for the use as chemotherapeutic agents.
紫锥菊是一种畅销的草本补充剂，具有免疫刺激作用。它已被用于治疗普通感冒、咳嗽、支气管炎和上呼吸道感染。它也是一种用于癌症治疗的流行产品。紫锥菊对癌细胞的细胞毒性作用尚不清楚。本研究的目的是初步验证紫锥菊花的 50%乙醇提取物及其主要化合物菊苣酸对人结肠癌细胞 Caco-2 和 HCT-116 的影响。
研究了紫锥菊花提取物和菊苣酸对人结肠癌细胞活力、端粒酶活性、DNA 片段化、β-连环蛋白、半胱天冬酶-9 和聚 ADP-核糖聚合酶（PARP）的切割的细胞毒性作用。
结果表明，紫锥菊花提取物和菊苣酸在剂量和时间依赖性方式下显著抑制增殖。菊苣酸处理降低了 HCT-116 细胞中的端粒酶活性。此外，菊苣酸能有效诱导结肠癌细胞凋亡，表现为 DNA 片段化、半胱天冬酶-9 活化、PARP 切割和β-连环蛋白下调。
我们的数据表明，菊苣酸对结肠癌细胞具有强烈的生长抑制作用，可能是由于端粒酶活性降低和细胞凋亡诱导所致。确切的作用机制仍需在未来的研究中确定。总的来说，紫锥菊花的 50%乙醇提取物和菊苣酸的作用可能为化疗药物的应用提供了体外证据。
