Khan Mohammad Ahmed, Ali Ruhi, Parveen Rabea, Najmi Abul Kalam, Ahmad Sayeed
Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi 110062, India.
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi 110062, India.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2016 Sep 15;191:315-323. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.06.053. Epub 2016 Jun 21.
Increasing research on traditional herbal medicines and their phytoconstituents has recognized their usefulness in complementary as adjuvant to chemotherapy in various types of cancers. The oleo-gum resin of Boswellia serrata tree is one such folk medicine, which has been traditionally used for religious, cosmetic as well as medical purposes since ages. The oleo-gum resin of the plant has been used in traditional medicine to treat variety of conditions including inflammatory diseases like arthritis, asthma, chronic pain, bowel conditions and many other diseases. This review presents an overview of scientific studies on cytotoxic and antitumor properties of B. serrata and its constituents.
Literature search was carried out for activities of B. serrata and various isolated boswellic acids such as β-boswellic acid, 11-keto-β-boswellic acid and acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid reported in various cancer types in vitro as well as in vivo.
The triterpenoidal fraction of B. serrata (containing boswellic acids) is responsible for the cytotoxic and antitumor properties. Among the screened compounds, 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid has been found to be most promising cytotoxic molecule. The cytotoxic and antitumor effects are mainly due to induction of apoptosis through caspase activation, increased Bax expression, NF-κB down regulation and induction of poly (ADP)-ribose polymerase (PARP) cleavage.
Boswellic acids appear to be promising candidates for anticancer drug development in future. However, further in vivo studies are needed. Studies in combination with clinically used anticancer drugs and QSAR studies on individual boswellic acid also need to be carried out.
对传统草药及其植物成分的研究日益增加，已认识到它们在各类癌症中作为化疗辅助药物的补充作用。锯叶乳香树的油胶树脂就是这样一种民间药物，自古以来就一直用于宗教、美容以及医疗目的。该植物的油胶树脂在传统医学中用于治疗多种病症，包括关节炎、哮喘、慢性疼痛、肠道疾病等炎症性疾病以及许多其他疾病。本综述概述了关于锯叶乳香及其成分的细胞毒性和抗肿瘤特性的科学研究。
对锯叶乳香以及各种分离出的乳香酸（如β - 乳香酸、11 - 酮基 - β - 乳香酸和乙酰 - 11 - 酮基 - β - 乳香酸）在各种癌症类型中的体外和体内活性进行了文献检索。
锯叶乳香的三萜类成分（含乳香酸）具有细胞毒性和抗肿瘤特性。在筛选出的化合物中，3 - O - 乙酰 - 11 - 酮基 - β - 乳香酸被发现是最有前景的细胞毒性分子。细胞毒性和抗肿瘤作用主要归因于通过半胱天冬酶激活诱导细胞凋亡、增加Bax表达、下调NF - κB以及诱导聚（ADP） - 核糖聚合酶（PARP）裂解。
乳香酸似乎是未来抗癌药物开发的有前景的候选物。然而，需要进一步的体内研究。还需要开展与临床使用的抗癌药物联合的研究以及对单个乳香酸的定量构效关系研究。
