Molecular Carcinogenesis 2013-01-01

Chemopreventive effect of a mixture of Chinese Herbs (antitumor B) on chemically induced oral carcinogenesis.

Yian Wang, Ruisheng Yao, Song Gao, Weidong Wen, Yinqiu Du, Eva Szabo, Ming Hu, Ronald A Lubet, Ming You

Index: Mol. Carcinog. 52(1) , 49-56, (2013)

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Abstract

In this study, we evaluated chemopreventive efficacy of Antitumor B, a Chinese herbal mixture of six plants (Sophora tonkinensis, Polygonum bistorta, Prunella vulgaris, Sonchus arvensis L., Dictamnus dasycarpus, and Dioscorea bulbifera) on the development of 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) induced oral squamous cell carcinomas in A/J mice. Antitumor B, delivered through diet, inhibited 4NQO-induced oral cancer development by 59.19%. The reduction of cell proliferation appears to be associated with efficacy of Antitumor B against 4NQO-induced oral cancer in A/J mice. The expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and phosphorylated EGFR (Tyr1173) were down-regulated by Antitumor B. Tissue distribution of Antitumor B was determined using obacunone, matrine, and maackiain as marker chemicals. We found significant amounts of obacunone, matrine, and maackiain in the blood after 1-wk treatment. The concentrations of these three compounds did not increase further at 18  wk, suggesting that plasma concentrations had reached a steady-state level at 1  wk. There was no significant body weight loss and there was no other obvious sign of toxicity in Antitumor B-treated mice. These results suggest that Antitumor B is a promising agent for human oral cancer chemoprevention.Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.