Hepatoprotective effects of Taiwan folk medicine: Ixeris chinensis (Thunb.) Nak. on experimental liver injuries

Effects of Ixeris Chinensis (Thunb.) Nakai boiling water extract on hepatitis B viral activity and hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and hepatocellular carcinoma are major diseases that affect the Taiwanese population. Therefore, the development of an alternative herbal medicine that can effectively treat these diseases is a research target. In this study, we tested Ixeris Chinensis (Thunb.) Nakai boiling water extract (ICTN BWE) in vitro and analysed its effects on the HBV and liver cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used a human liver cancer cell line (Hep3B, a cell line that continuously secretes HBV particles into a medium) as an experimental model for the screening of various ICTN BWE concentrations and their effects on the HBV in vitro.

RESULTS

Our results showed that 75 µg/mL ICTN BWE downregulated the relative expression of the hepatitis B virus surface antigens (HBsAg) to 77.1%. Using the human liver cancer cell lines HuH-7 and HepG2, and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-zyl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and tumour clonogenic assays, we then showed that ICTN BWE inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma growth.

CONCLUSION

Fluorescent microscopy of DAPI(4',6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole)-stained nuclei and DNA fragmentation assays confirmed the inhibitory effects of ICTN BWE on liver tumour cell growth through induction of apoptosis.

In vitro anti-leukemic and antiviral activities of traditionally used medicinal plants in Taiwan

Medicinal plants have been historically used as treatment for different kinds of human diseases. In this study, hot water (HW) extract of five Taiwanese traditionally used medicinal plants was evaluated for their in vitro anti-leukemic (including anti-K562, L1210, P3HR1, Raji and U937 leukemia cells) and antiviral (including HSV-1 and HSV-2) activities. Results showed that Blumea lacera exhibited broad anti-leukemic activity at magnitudes ranging from moderate to mild and Ixeris chinensis is effective at inhibiting the proliferation of K562 cells. B. lacera and Tithonia diversifolia suppressed the replication of HSV-1 and HSV-2, and had IC50 values below 100 microg/ml. The medicinal plants showed no cytotoxic effect at concentrations that inhibited HSV infection. It was, therefore, concluded that the HW extract of tested medicinal plants exhibited anti-leukemic and antiviral activities at different magnitudes of potency.

Inhibitory effects of luteolin isolated from Ixeris sonchifolia Hance on the proliferation of HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

We investigated the anti-proliferative effects of luteolin and apigenin, isolated from Ixeris sonchifolia Hance, on HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. In MTT assay luteolin showed more efficient anti-proliferative effects on cells than apigenin did. According to propidium iodide staining and flow cytometry studies, we postulated that these effects might be a result of cell cyde arrest. Hence we examined the changes of protein expressions related to cell cycle arrest. Western blotting data demonstrated that the down-regulated expression of CDK4 was correlated to the increase of p53 and CDK inhibitor p21(WAF1/CIP1) protein. These data suggest that luteolin may have potential as an anti-cancer agent.