Abstract
Cnidii monnieri Fructus [CmF; Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson] is used as a tonic agent in traditional Chinese medicine. In a previous Chinese herb-cytotoxicity screening test, the ethanol extract of CmF exhibited strong effects on human leukemia (HL-60), cervical carcinoma (HeLa) and colorectal carcinoma (CoLo 205) cells. Then, the CmF extract was subjected to silica gel column chromatography and recrystallization to give five coumarins: osthol, imperatorin, bergapten, isopimpinellin, and xanthotoxin. Among these compounds, osthol showed the strongest cytotoxic activity on tumor cell lines. The structure-activity relationship established from the results indicated that the prenyl group has an important role in the cytotoxic effects. However, imperatorin showed the highest sensitivity to HL-60 cells and the least cytotoxicity to normal PBMCs. Osthol and imperatorin both caused apoptotic bodies, DNA fragmentation, and enhanced PARP degradation in HL-60 cells by biochemical analysis. These results indicate that osthol and imperatorin can induce apoptosis in HL-60 cells. Therefore, osthol and imperatorin are cytotoxic marker substances in the fruits of Cnidium monnieri.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1091-1095 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Planta Medica |
| Volume | 69 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Dec 2003 |
Keywords
- Apoptosis
- Cnidium monnieri
- HL-60 cell
- Imperatorin
- Osthol
- Umbelliferae
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Drug Discovery
- Analytical Chemistry
- Molecular Medicine
- Complementary and alternative medicine
- Pharmacology
- Pharmaceutical Science
- Organic Chemistry
