Evaluation of oriental medicinal herbs for estrogenic and antiproliferative activities

• Published in: Phytotherapy research 2006-11, Vol.20 (11), p.1017-1019
• Main Authors: Kang, Se Chan, Lee, Chang Min, Choi, Han, Lee, Jae Hyun, Oh, Joa Sub, Kwak, Jong Hwan, Zee, Ok Pyo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antiproliferative effects; Asia; beta-Galactosidase - analysis; beta-Galactosidase - metabolism; Biological and medical sciences; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; estrogen; estrogen receptor; Estrogens - toxicity; General pharmacology; Genes, Reporter; HeLa Cells; Humans; Medical sciences; Methanol - chemistry; Organisms, Genetically Modified - physiology; Oriental medicinal herbs; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Extracts - toxicity; Plants, Medicinal - chemistry; Plants, Medicinal - toxicity; Receptors, Estrogen - drug effects; recombinant yeast system; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Toxicity Tests - methods
• ISSN: 0951-418X; 1099-1573
• DOI: 10.1002/ptr.1987

Herb extracts commercially used in Asia were screened for their estrogenic activity with a recombinant yeast system with both a human estrogen receptor (ER) expression plasmid and a reporter plasmid. Pueraria lobata (flower) had the highest estrogenic relative potency (RP, 17‐estradiol = 1.00) (7.8e‐3) (RP for + control), followed by Amomum xanthioides (1.3e‐3), Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Zingiber officinale, Rheum palmatum, Curcuma aromatica, Eriobotrya japonica, Sophora flavescens, Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Polygonum multiflorum and Pueraria lobata (root) (9.5e‐4–1.0e‐4), and Prunus persica, Lycoppus lucidus and Adenophora stricta (9.0e‐5–8.0e‐5). In the antiproliferative assay, five human cancer cell lines representing different tissues (breast, lung and ovary) were used. Eriobotrya japonica showed strong cytotoxicity in ER‐negative breast cancer (MDA‐MB‐231), cervix epitheloid (HeLa) and lung (A549) carcinoma cell lines. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.