Department of Oriental Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Wonkwang-Oriental Medicines Research Institute, Wonkwang University, 460 Iksandae-ro, Iksan, Jeonbuk 54538, Republic of Korea.
Department of Pharmacology, College of Korean Medicine, Institute of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2018 Jun 28;220:177-187. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2018.03.036. Epub 2018 Mar 28.
The pharmacological effect derived from herb-herb interaction is important to constitute the prescription especially in traditional oriental medicine. The relationship of two medicinal herbs is called "couplet medicinals" which is used in pair for the purpose of enhancing the therapeutic effect, reducing the toxic effect or the adverse effect. The "Eighteen Incompatible Medicaments" constitute one of the contents in the incompatibility of traditional oriental drugs in a prescription. Among the "Eighteen Incompatible Medicaments", the roots and rhizomes of Veratrum nigrum (VN), is incompatible with the roots and rhizomes of Panax ginseng (PG). However, definite evidences of adverse effect by these combinations has yet to be reported.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of ethanol extracts of PG, VN, and their combination (P + V) on the metastatic ability of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells using WST assay, flow cytometry, western blot analysis, real-time RT-PCR, immunofluorescence, migration assay, invasion assay, zymography, and an in vivo experiment with a lung-metastasis mouse model.
The PG extract decreased cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of CRC cells. In addition, PG inhibited metastatic abilities of CRC cells including Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, migration, and invasion. Additionally, the PG extract suppressed lung metastasis of the CRC cells in the mouse model. However, the P + V extract exhibited weaker anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic effects than PG alone.
Based on these results, the P + V couplet medicinal attenuates the anti-metastatic effects of PG, both in vitro and in vivo.
草药-草药相互作用的药理作用对于构成方剂至关重要，尤其是在传统东方医学中。两种草药的关系称为“对偶药”，用于增强治疗效果、降低毒性或不良反应。“十八反药”构成了传统东方药物处方中不相容性的内容之一。在“十八反药”中，藜芦（VN）的根和根茎与人参（PG）的根和根茎不相容。然而，这些组合的不良反应的确切证据尚未报道。
本研究旨在使用 WST 测定法、流式细胞术、Western blot 分析、实时 RT-PCR、免疫荧光、迁移测定、侵袭测定、凝胶酶谱分析和带有肺转移小鼠模型的体内实验，研究 PG、VN 及其组合（P+V）的乙醇提取物对结直肠癌（CRC）细胞转移能力的影响。
PG 提取物通过诱导 CRC 细胞的细胞周期停滞和凋亡来降低细胞增殖。此外，PG 抑制了 CRC 细胞的转移能力，包括上皮-间充质转化、迁移和侵袭。此外，PG 提取物抑制了 CRC 细胞在小鼠模型中的肺转移。然而，P+V 提取物的抗增殖和抗转移作用弱于 PG 单独使用。
基于这些结果，P+V 对偶药在体外和体内均减弱了 PG 的抗转移作用。
