Planta Med 2002; 68(3): 204-208
DOI: 10.1055/s-2002-23144
Original Paper
Pharmacology
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Cytotoxic Activity of Sesquiterpenoids from Atractylodes ovata on Leukemia Cell Lines

Ching-Chiung Wang1 , Lih-Geeng Chen1 , Ling-Ling Yang1, 2
  • 1Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy Science, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan, R.O.C.
  • 2Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, Life Science College, National Chiayi University, Chiayi 600, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Further Information

Publication History

April 3, 2001

September 16, 2001

Publication Date:
25 March 2002 (online)

Abstract

The rhizome of Atractylodes ovata (Bai Zhu in Chinese) is a widely used traditional Chinese herb in Taiwan as a tonic agent. In this paper, four sesquiterpenoids, namely atractylon, and atractylenolides I, II, and III, were isolated from the n-hexane extract of A. ovata and were evaluated for cytotoxic effects in vitro. Atractylon significantly inhibited the growth of human leukemia cell line HL-60 and mouse leukemia cell line P-388, and showed low cytotoxicity against primary cultures of normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells at 15 μg/ml for 12 h. Atractylon had a dose-dependent antiproliferative effect on the two tumor cell lines. In accordance with DNA fragment increases and PARP protein decreases, atractylon at 15 μg/ml for 6 h induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells. Moreover, atractylon inhibited the viability of P-388 cells and induced apoptosis after 15 μg/ml treatment for 12 h in an in vitro assay. However, atractylenolide I at 30 μg/ml for 12 h also induced apoptosis in HL-60 and P-388 cells, but atractylenolides II and III showed no significant inhibition effects on tumor cell growth. As the above results suggested, atractylon and atractylenolide I were the major cytotoxic principle constituents of A. ovata on leukemia cell lines.

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