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Chen X, Zhao Y, Yang A, Tian Y, Pang D, Sun J, Tang L, Huang H, Wang Y, Zhao Y, Tu P, Hu Z, Li J. Chinese Dragon's Blood EtOAc Extract Inhibits Liver Cancer Growth Through Downregulation of Smad3. Front Pharmacol 2020; 11:669. [PMID: 32477135 PMCID: PMC7237706 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2020.00669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most prevalent malignancies, which ranks the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The screening of anti-HCC drug with high efficiency and low toxicity from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted more and more attention. As a TCM, Chinese dragon’s blood has been used for the treatment of cardiovascular illness, gynecological illness, skin disorder, otorhinolaryngological illness, and diabetes mellitus complications for many years. However, the anti-tumor effect and underlying mechanisms of Chinese dragon’s blood remain ill-defined. Herein we have revealed that Chinese dragon’s blood EtOAc extract (CDBEE) obviously suppressed the growth of human hepatoma HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells. Moreover, CDBEE inhibited the migration and invasion of HepG2 and SK-HEP-1 cells. Additionally, CDBEE displayed good in vitro anti-angiogenic activity. Importantly, CDBEE treatment significantly blunted the oncogenic capability of HepG2 cells in nude mice. Mechanistically, CDBEE inhibited Smad3 expression in human hepatoma cells and tumor tissues from nude mice. Using RNA interference, we demonstrated that CDBEE exerted anti-hepatoma activity partially through down-regulation of Smad3, one of major members in TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway. Therefore, CDBEE may be a promising candidate drug for HCC treatment, especially for liver cancer with aberrant TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaonan Chen
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yanan Zhao
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Ailin Yang
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Yingying Tian
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Daoran Pang
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Leimengyuan Tang
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Huiming Huang
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Molecular Orthopaedics, Beijing Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yunfang Zhao
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Pengfei Tu
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongdong Hu
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Li
- Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China
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Chen Q, He L, Mo C, Zhang Z, Long H, Gu X, Wei Y. Rapid Evaluation of Chemical Consistency of Artificially Induced and Natural Resina Draconis Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry-Based Chemical Profiling. Molecules 2018; 23:E1850. [PMID: 30044430 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23081850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Revised: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 07/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Resina Draconis is a highly valued traditional medicine widely used in Arabia since ancient times, and it has been commonly used as an antidiarrheic, antimicrobial, antiulcer, blood circulation promoter as well as an anti-inflammatory agent. The tree source from which this medicine orignates grows extremely slowly, producing a very low yield of Resina Draconis. To meet the increasing market demand, artificial methods for stimulating Resina Draconis formation have been developed and applied. However, the chemical differences between artificially induced Resina Draconis (AIRD) and natural Resina Draconis (NRD) have been rarely studied. The aim of this research was to explore and identify the chemical constituents of AIRD and NRD using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) based chemical profiling. A total of 56 chromatographic peaks were detected in AIRD, of these, 44 peaks have had their structures tentatively characterized based on high-resolution mass spectra (HRMS) data, fragmentation ions information, reference standards data and literature review. In total, 40 peaks were found both in AIRD and NRD. The potential chemical transformation mechanisms active in Resina Draconis during formation were explored. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of the chemical profiles of both AIRD and NRD. Furthermore, these findings are expected to provide a rational basis for the quality assessment of AIRD and the use of AIRD as a substitute for NRD.
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Chen F, Xiong H, Wang J, Ding X, Shu G, Mei Z. Antidiabetic effect of total flavonoids from Sanguis draxonis in type 2 diabetic rats. J Ethnopharmacol 2013; 149:729-736. [PMID: 23933499 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2013.07.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2013] [Revised: 07/08/2013] [Accepted: 07/24/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Sanguis draxonis (SD) is a kind of red resin obtained from the wood of Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour.) S. C. Chen (Dracaena cochinchinensis). It is a Chinese traditional herb that is prescribed for the handling of diabetic disorders, which is also supported by an array of scientific studies published in recent years. Although chemical constituents of this plant material have also been previously evaluated (Tang et al., 1995; Wei et al., 1998), it still remains poorly understood which constituent is the major contributor to its antidiabetic activities. Moreover, very little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying antidiabetic activities of SD. Flavonoids exist at a high level in SD. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antidiabetic effects of total flavonoids from SD (SDF) in type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS T2DM rats were induced by 4 weeks high-fat diet and a singular injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (35mg/kg). Then T2DM rats were treated with SDF for 21 days, using normal saline as the negative control. For comparison, a standard antidiabetic drug, metformin (200mg/kg), was used as a positive control. Three weeks later, relative biochemical indexes were determined and histopathological examinations were performed to assess the antidiabetic activities of SDF. RESULTS SDF not only exhibited a significant hypoglycemic activity, but also alleviated dyslipidemia, tissue steatosis, and oxidative stress associated with T2DM. Moreover, considerable pancreatic islet protecting effects could be observed after SDF treatment. Further investigations revealed a potential anti-inflammation activity of SDF by determining serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and C-reactive protein (CRP). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates both hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects of SDF in T2DM rats, suggesting that flavonoids are the major active ingredients accounting for the antidiabetic activity of SD. Alleviating chronic inflammation responses and protecting pancreatic islets are possible mechanisms involved in the antidiabetic activity of SDF.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Blood Glucose/analysis
- Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/drug therapy
- Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/metabolism
- Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/pathology
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/metabolism
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/pathology
- Dracaena/chemistry
- Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry
- Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification
- Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use
- Flavonoids/isolation & purification
- Flavonoids/therapeutic use
- Glucose Tolerance Test
- Hypoglycemic Agents/isolation & purification
- Hypoglycemic Agents/therapeutic use
- Insulin/blood
- Lipids/blood
- Liver/drug effects
- Liver/pathology
- Male
- Pancreas/drug effects
- Pancreas/pathology
- Rats
- Rats, Sprague-Dawley
- Resins, Plant/chemistry
- Resins, Plant/isolation & purification
- Streptozocin/pharmacology
- Wood/chemistry
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Affiliation(s)
- Fufeng Chen
- College of Pharmacy, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, PR China
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