Recent advances in pharmacologic study of natural anticancer agents in China

In this paper a number of anticancer agents of natural origin will be presented. Hydroxycamtothecin (HCPT) was found to produce a strong inhibitory action on a variety of animal tumors. It is also effective for treatment of patients with gastric carcinoma, liver carcinoma, tumor of head and neck or leukemia. Pharmacologic studies showed that it could depress S phase of tumor cells significantly and cause formation of cellular chromatid breaks. By means of alkaline elution and nick translation methods it has been proved that HCPT induced DNA singlo strand breaks remarkably. Homoharringyonine (hhrt) was shown to be effective against acute leukemia. Recent experiments in tumor-bearing mice inidcated that (HHRT) could diminish tumor metastasis. Using molecular hybridization technique it was demonstrated that (HHRT) decreased the content of c-myc RNA in the cytoplasm but not in the nuclei. Lycobetaine (LBT) poddrddrf dytnh inhibitory effects on a number of ascites tumors. In clinical trials it was against ovarian and gastric carcinomas. It is able to intercalate into DNA. Oxalysine (OXL) is a new antibiotic and shown to be effective against tumor metastatis. When used in combination with 5-FU, its anticancer action could be enhanced. Other natural compounds such as indirubin, ß-elemene, irisquinone, oridonine, norcantharidin and PSP have been also found to possess antitumor action.

INFLUENCE OF LYCOBETAINE ON THE CELL CYCLE & MITOSIS IN MOUSE EHRLICH CARCINOMA CELLS / 中国药理学通报

Lycobetaine ( AT-1840 ) is an effective antitumor substance. In the present work it was demonstrated that in a dose of 40 pig/kg AT-1840 could decrease the percentage of G, cells, meanwhile it increased G2 + M cells remarkably by means of flow fluocytometry method, AT-1840 could also inhibit the progression of cells from G2 to G1 phase. 8 to 72 h after, the injection the mitotic index was decreased significantly and recovered gradually in 6 d. It could inhibit the prophase and metaphase greatly, but had no marked influence on anaphase & telophase.