Yan Xiu-Xiang, Zhao Yan-Qiang, He Yun, Disayathanoowat Terd, Pandith Hataichanok, Inta Angkhana, Yang Li-Xin
Key Laboratory of Economic Plants and Biotechnology, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Front Pharmacol. 2023 Jan 26;14:1100825. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1100825. eCollection 2023.
Cancer is one of the top two leading causes of death worldwide. Ethnobotanical research, it is one of methods, which is able to discover effective anticancer drugs based on "prototype" of indigenous people's historical experiences and practices. The rhizomes of var. (Franch.) Hand.-Mazz. have been used as botanical drugs to treat cancer by Yi, Bai, Dai, and Naxi ethnic groups in Yunnan, China, where this species is widely cultivated in a large scale in Yunnan. To identify the substances of anticancer activities based on indigenous medicine knowledge, chromatography was performed to separate saponins from the rhizomes of var. , followed by spectroscopy to determine the structure of six isolated saponins. The cytotoxicity of five extracts and six pure compounds were evaluated by MTS method. Quantitative determination of total saponins of var. was analyzed by HPLC. Cell cycle assay, apoptosis assay, and mitochondrial membrane potential were used to evaluate the pro-apoptotic activity . Five extracts and six pure saponins showed significant inhibitory cytotoxic activities of three human liver cancer cell lines (SMMC-7721, HepG2, and SK-HEP-1) and one non-small-cell lung cancer cell line (A549). The contents of Paris saponins I, II, and VII were 6.96% in the rhizomes of var. , much higher than Chinese Pharmacopoeia standards (0.6%). Six saponins induced significant apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in three human cancer cell lines (A549, SMMC-7721, and HepG2), which was associated with the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. The result of this study support that cultivated var. could be a substitute for wild resource as an anticancer medicine based on indigenous medicine knowledge.
癌症是全球两大主要死因之一。民族植物学研究是能够基于原住民历史经验和实践的“原型”发现有效抗癌药物的方法之一。滇重楼（Paris vietnamensis (Takht.) H. Li）的根茎被中国云南的彝族、白族、傣族和纳西族用作治疗癌症的植物药，该物种在云南广泛大规模种植。为了基于本土医学知识鉴定抗癌活性物质，采用色谱法从滇重楼根茎中分离皂苷，随后用光谱法确定六种分离皂苷的结构。通过MTS法评估五种提取物和六种纯化合物的细胞毒性。采用高效液相色谱法分析滇重楼总皂苷的含量。通过细胞周期分析、凋亡分析和线粒体膜电位评估促凋亡活性。五种提取物和六种纯皂苷对三种人肝癌细胞系（SMMC - 7721、HepG2和SK - HEP - 1）和一种非小细胞肺癌细胞系（A549）显示出显著的抑制细胞毒性活性。滇重楼根茎中重楼皂苷I、II和VII的含量为6.96%，远高于《中国药典》标准（0.6%）。六种皂苷在三种人癌细胞系（A549、SMMC - 7721和HepG2）中诱导显著的凋亡和细胞周期阻滞，这与线粒体膜电位的丧失有关。本研究结果支持，基于本土医学知识，人工栽培的滇重楼可作为抗癌药物替代野生资源。
