1. Antiproliferative constituents in Umbelliferae plants II. Screening for polyacetylenes in some Umbelliferae plants, and isolation of panaxynol and falcarindiol from the root of Heracleum moellendorffii.
Methanol extracts of 36 samples of 21 Umbelliferae plants were screened for polyacetylenic compounds using the ELISA for panaxytriol, and their antiproliferative activity was checked by MTT assay using the tumor cell lines MK-1, HeLa and B16F10. The presence of antiproliferative polyacetylenes was suggested in Angelica acutiloba (fruit), Anethum graveolens (root), Bupleurum rotundifolium (fruit), Carum carvi (fruit and root), Coriandrum sativum (fruit), Cryptotaenia japonica (leaf), Glehnia littoralis (fruit), Heracleum moellendorffii (root) and Torilis japonica (fruit). Panaxynol and falcarindiol were successfully isolated from the root of Heracleum moellendorffii as antiproliferative polyacetylenes.
––Nakano Y, Matsunaga H, Saita T, Mori M, Katano M, Okabe H. Biol Pharm Bull. 1998 Mar;21(3):257-61.
2. Effects of 24 Chinese medicinal herbs on nucleic acid, protein and cell cycle of human lung adenocarcinoma cell
Using flow cytometry the authors analysed the effect of 24 Chinese medicinal herbs (CMH) in compound recipe on proliferation index (PI), DNA index, protein index and ratio of various phases in cell cycle of human lung adenocarcinoma cell (SPC-A-1), The PI were more than 20%, in 4 CMH, while 3 CMH such as Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Glehnia littoralis, Panax Ginseng, could strengthen the body resistance. That suggested using CMH of strengthening body resistance not only served as conventional tonice but also as tumor cell inhibitor. Meanwhile the action point of 24 CMH on cell cycle were different. Therefore according to these results a new recombined Chinese recipe would be more effectively used for clinical practice.
––Han MQ, Liu JX, Gao H. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 1995 Mar;15(3):147-9.
3. Mutation-inhibiting effect
0.5g/ml immersion fluid of bei sha shen showed quite strong mutation-inhibiting effect when added into in vitro cultured mammalian cells.
1. The in vitro potentiation of LAK cell cytotoxicity in cancer and aids patients induced by F3--a fractionated extract of Astragalus membranaceus
The in vitro induction of LAK cell activity was studied in cancer and AIDS patients. F3, an immuno-regulatory component of Astragalus membranaceus was shown capable of potentiating the LAK cell inducing activity of rIL-2. The killing activity against Hs294T melanoma cell line of LAK cells induced by 50 U/ml rIL-2 in the presence of F3 (55 micrograms/ml) reached 64% which was comparable to that (60%) induced by 500 u/ml of rIL-2 alone. With F3 plus rIL-2, the effector to target cell ratio could be reduced to one-half in order to obtain an equivalent level of cytotoxicity when rIL-2 was used alone. In some patients, whose peripheral blood lymphocytes were relatively inert to rIL-2, F3 could make them responsive to rIL-2. These results imply that F3 may be useful to potentiate LAK cell activity, reduce the amount of rIL-2 and thus minimize the later's toxic side effects when used in vivo.
––Chu DT, Lin JR, Wong W. Zhonghua Zhong Liu Za Zhi. 1994 May;16(3):167-71.
2. Suppressive effect of Astragalus membranaceus Bunge on chemical hepatocarcinogenesis in rats.
Astragalus membranaceus (AM) has been widely used for treating liver diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. Experimental evidence indicates that it has antitumor potential. In this study, the effect of AM on hepatocarcinogenesis induced by diethylnitrosamine (DEN), two-thirds partial hepatectomy, and 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF) (DEN-PH-AAF) was evaluated using glutathione S-transferase placenta form (GST-P) as marker. First, rats were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with DEN (200 mg/kg in saline), a two-thirds partial hepatectomy was carried out 2 weeks later, and the rats were then placed on a basal diet containing 0.02% AAF from week 3 to week 8 to induce hepatocarcinogenesis. The rats were given AM (90 mg/kg or 180 mg/kg body weight) by gavage from week 3 to week 8 (treatment groups). The formation of GST-P-positive foci and the expression of GST-P protein and mRNA caused by DEN-PH-AAF were reduced in the treatment groups, which clearly suggests that AM is effective in delaying DEN-PH-AAF-induced hepatocarcinogenesis.
––Cui R, He J, Wang B, Zhang F, Chen G, Yin S, Shen H. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2003 Jan;51(1):75-80. Epub 2002 Nov 26.
3. Effect of Astragalan on secretion of tumor necrosis factors in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells
The extracts of Astragalus membranaceus have been further isolated by liquid chromatography. One of the fractions (Astragalan, M.W. 20,000-25,000) could enhance the secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in vitro. After isolation of adherent and nonadherent mononuclear cells from PBMC, Astragalan increased the secretion of TNF-alpha and TNF-beta respectively. These results suggest further study of Astragalan would promote the application of Astragalan in cancer immunotherapy.
––Zhao KW, Kong HY. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 1993 May;13(5):263-5, 259.
1. Studies on the chemical constituents of Smilax glabra
Smilax glabra is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine which has been used clinically to prevent leptospirosis, to treat syphilis, and acute bacterial dysentery, etc. Its extracts showed anti-tumor and anti-atherosclerosis activity. A new isoflavone, 7,6'-dihydroxy 3'-methoxy isoflavone (1), along with two known compounds taxifolin (2) and astilbin (3), have been isolated from the roots of Smilax glabra. The structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including 2DNMR techniques.
––Yi Y, Cao Z, Yang D, Cao Y, Wu Y, Zhao S. Yao Xue Xue Bao. 1998 Nov;33(11):873-5.
2. Anticancer effect
This herb had certain inhibitory effect on rat liver cancer induced by AFB1, it also had inhibitory effect on transplanted tumors.
1. Stimulating activity of Chinese medicinal herbs on human lymphocytes in vitro.
The effects of eight kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs (CMH) on human lymphocytes was studied in vitro. The extract of Cinnamomum cassia presl markedly stimulated human lymphocytes to proliferate. Codonopsis pilosula, Oldenlandia diffusa and Rhizoma typhonii weakly stimulated. These extracts enhanced cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) activity, but failed to enhance natural killer (NK)-cell activity. The extracts of these CMHs have stimulatory effect on immunoglobulin (Ig) production by B-cells and interleukin(IL)-1 production by monocytes. These activities of Cinnamomun cassia presl extract are associated with glycoproteins, whose molecular weight was about 100 KDa. These results suggest that CMH extracts have a stimulating activity on human lymphocytes and these abilities could be used clinically for the treatment of diseases such as cancer.
––Shan BE, Yoshida Y, Sugiura T, Yamashita U. Int J Immunopharmacol. 1999 Mar;21(3):149-59.
2. Immunological and hematopoietic effect of Codonopsis pilosula on cancer patients during radiotherapy]
Codonopsis pilosula was used as an adjuvant in 76 cancer patients during radiotherapy and its protective effect on hematopoietic and immunologic function was studied. Results: (1) No influence on Hb and WBC of the patients with radiotherapy. (2) It could reduce the immunosuppressive effect of radiotherapy on delayed hypersensitive reaction, the lymphocyte response to PHA and IL-2. (3) No difference between treated and control groups in most humoral immune indices such as IgG, IgA and C3, but had slight increase in IgM in treated patients, while significant decrease in control.
––Zneg XL, Li XA, Zhang BY. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Za Zhi. 1992 Oct;12(10):607-8, 581.
1. Cylindol A, a novel biphenyl ether with 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity, and a related compound from Imperata Cylindrica.
Cylindol A [1] and B [2], two novel substances, have been isolated from Imperata cylindrica, and their structures have been elucidated on the basis of their spectral data coupled with chemical evidence and total synthesis. Cylindol A [1] showed 5-lipoxygenase inhibitory activity.
––Matsunaga K, Ikeda M, Shibuya M, Ohizumi Y. J Nat Prod. 1994 Sep;57(9):1290-3.
1. Chinese medicinal herbs inhibit growth of murine renal cell carcinoma.
Tumors are known to produce factors suppressing immune functions. We previously showed that a murine renal cell carcinoma (Renca) suppressed macrophage function in vitro and that this suppression was abolished by co-incubation with extracts of two Chinese medicinal herbs. We now report that these phytochemicals are capable of inhibiting growth of Renca in vivo. BALB/c mice were transplanted intraperitoneally (IP) with 1-2 x 10(5) Renca cells. One day after tumor transplant, mice were randomized into two groups. One group was treated IP, daily for 10 days, with 100 microliters of phytochemicals containing 500 micrograms each of Astragalus membranaceus and Ligustrum lucidum, while the other group received saline as controls. A cure rate of 57% was obtained with these phytochemicals when the initial tumor load was 2 x 10(5), and 100% when the initial tumor load was 1 x 10(5). Additional experiments were performed to investigate the mechanisms involved in this protection. Splenic macrophages from tumor-bearing mice were shown to have depressed chemiluminescent oxidative burst activity, and this depression was restored with phytochemical treatment. Splenocytes from mice transplanted with Renca responded less favorably to interleukin-2 (IL-2) in generating lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells; again this depression was restored with phytochemical treatment. Our data suggest that these phytochemicals may have exerted their antitumor effects via augmentation of phagocyte and LAK cell activities.
––Lau BH, Ruckle HC, Botolazzo T, Lui PD. Cancer Biother. 1994 Summer;9(2):153-61.
2. Immune restoration and/or augmentation of local graft versus host reaction by traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.
The in vitro restorative effect of aqueous extracts from two traditional Chinese medicinal herbs were studied in 19 cancer patients and in 15 normal healthy donors. Using the local graft versus host (GVH) reaction as a test assay for T-cell function, the extract from astragalus membranaceus (10 microgram/ml) induced a restored reaction in nine of ten patients with an increase in local GVH reaction from 18.2 plus/minus 15.8 mm3 to 112.9 plus/minus 94.2 mm3 (P less than 0.01). The extract from ligustrum lucidum, likewise effected an immune restoration in nine of 13 cancer patients with an increase in local GVH reaction from 32.3 plus/minus 36.1 mm3 to 118 plus/minus 104.9 mm3 (P less than 0.01). This degree of immune restoration appears to be complete as it equals the local GVH reaction observed among untreated mononuclear cells from normal healthy donors (82.8 plus/minus 41.1 mm3, P greater than 0.1). These results suggest that both extracts of the traditional Chinese medicinal herbs contain potent immune stimulants which may provide the rational basis for their therapeutic use as biological response modifiers.
––Sun Y, Hersh EM, Talpaz M, Lee SL, Wong W, Loo TL, Mavligit GM. Cancer. 1983 Jul 1;52(1):70-3.
No related research.
1. Anti-tumor effect
In vitro experiments showed that lu feng fang could inhibit human liver cancer cells.
2. Cytotoxicity and L-amino acid oxidase activity of crude insect drugs.
The cytotoxicity of crude insect drugs was measured using HeLa cells originating from human cervix and uterine cancer, using the dye uptake assay in order to find potential anticancer agents. Three kinds of extracts (buffer, methanol and ethylacetate) were prepared from 26 insects and used as raw materials for the activity assay. Among these, the buffer extracts from Tabanus, Mylabris and Huechys showed a potent anticancer activity, and those from Catharsius, Red ant, Scorpion, Tabanus and Vespae Nidus showed a strong L-amino acid oxidase (AAO) activity as well as cytotoxicity. In contrast, buffer extracts from Gryllotalpa orientalis and Apriona germari larvae showed greater/more rapid Hela cell growth than that of other insects.
––Ahn MY, Ryu KS, Lee YW, Kim YS.Arch Pharm Res. 2000 Oct;23(5):477-81.
1. Effect of Cuscuta chinensis water extract on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced skin papillomas and carcinomas in mice.
Cuscuta chinensis, known as Aftimun, is reputed to have antitumour activity in the Unani system of medicine in India. The effect of a hot water extract of C. chinensis on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced skin papillomas and carcinomas in Swiss albino mice was studied. Oral administration of the extract (1 g/kg body wt) thrice a week in 22 mice, started on the tenth day after the first application of DMBA to the 252nd day, markedly delayed the appearance and retarded the growth of papillomas and the incidence of carcinoma, relative to a control group with 28 mice, in a two-stage system of tumorigenesis. Its prophylactic effect was found to be statistically significant.
––Nisa M, Akbar S, Tariq M, Hussain Z. J Ethnopharmacol. 1986 Oct;18(1):21-31.
2. Effects of herbal preparation Equiguard on hormone-responsive and hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma cells: mechanistic studies.
The Equiguard is a dietary supplement comprised of standardized extracts from nine herbs, respectively, Herba epimedium brevicornum Maxim (stem and leaves), Radix morindae officinalis (root), Fructus rosa laevigatae michx (fruit), Rubus chingii Hu (fruit), Schisandra chinensis (Turz.) Baill (fruit), Ligustrum lucidum Ait (fruit), Cuscuta chinensis Lam (seed), Psoralea corylifolia L. (fruit), and Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge (root). This proprietary product, formulated according to Chinese traditional medicinal concepts, is aimed at restoring harmony in the <primordial (original) ying-yang> of the kidney, an organ which Chinese medicinal principles consider to be vital for invigorating as well as maintaining balance of the entire urological system. As the prostate is an integral component of the urological system, we performed in vitro studies to test the effects of ethanol extracts of Equiguard to modulate prostate growth and gene expression. These studies used prostate cancer cells mimicking the androgen-dependent (AD) and androgen-independent (AI) states of prostate carcinogenesis. Results show that Equiguard significantly reduced cancer cell growth, induced apoptosis, suppressed expression of the androgen receptor (AR) and lowered intracellular and secreted prostate specific antigen (PSA), and almost completely abolished colony forming abilities of prostate cancer cells. These data support the interpretation that this herbal formulation contains ingredients that collectively may be efficacious in preventing or treating AD and AI prostate carcinoma. The anti-prostatic activities of Equiguard may stem from its complex composition capable of targeting multiple signal transduction/metabolic pathways, to effectively correct, counteract or circumvent the impaired or dysfunctional mechanisms accompanying different stages of prostate carcinogenesis.
––Hsieh TC, Lu X, Guo J, Xiong W, Kunicki J, Darzynkiewicz Z, Wu JM. Int J Oncol. 2002 Apr;20(4):681-9.
1. Anti-mutagenesis effect
Gastrogavage or intraperitoneal injection of han lian cao had obvious inhibitory effect on PCE microkernel induced by cyclophosphane in mice.
1. The cytotoxicity of methyl protoneodioscin (NSC-698791) against human cancer cell lines in vitro.
Methyl protoneodioscin (NSC-698791) is a furostanol saponin isolated from the rhizome of Dioscorea collettii var. hypoglauca (Dioscoreaceae), a Chinese herbal remedy for the treatment of cervical carcinoma, carcinoma of the urinary bladder and renal tumor for centuries. In order to systematically evaluate its potential anticancer activity, methyl protoneodioscin cytotoxicity was tested in vitro against 60 human cancer cell lines in the NCI's (National Cancer Institute, USA) anticancer drug screen. As a result, methyl protoneodioscin was cytotoxic against all the test cell lines from leukemia and solid tumors in the NCI's human cancer panel, especially selectively against one non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) line (A549/ATCC), one colon cancer line (HCT-116), two central nenous system (CNS) cancer lines (SF-539 and SNB-75), one melanoma line (M14), one renal cancer line (CAKI-1), one prostate cancer (DU-145) and two breast cancer lines (HS 578T and MDA-MB-435) with GI50 < or = 2.0 microM. The selectivity between these nine most sensitive lines and the least sensitive line (TK-10) was from 22- to 30- fold. In the same cancer subpanel, a selectivity at GI50 level of more than 15-fold was observed between A549/ATCC and EKVX (NSCLC), between CAKI-1 and TK-10, A498 (renal cancer), respectively. In general the CNS cancer was the most sensitive subpanel, while renal cancer was the least sensitive subpanel.
––Hu K, Yao XS. Anticancer Res. 2002 Mar-Apr;22(2A):1001-5.
2. Antineoplastic agents; I. Three spirostanol glycosides from rhizomes of Dioscorea collettii var. hypoglauca.
By activity-guided fractionation, three known steroidal saponins, prosapogenin A of dioscin, dioscin and gracillin, were isolated from the total saponin fraction of Dioscorea coiletti var. hypoglauca as active compounds causing morphological abnormality of Pyricularia oryzae mycelia. The compounds also exhibited cytotoxic activity against the cancer cell line K562 in vitro. The structures of the compounds were elucidated on the basis of chemical evidence and IR, FAB-MS, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and two-dimensional NMR (2D-NMR) analysis.
––Hu K, Dong A, Yao X, Kobayashi H, Iwasaki S. Planta Med. 1996 Dec;62(6):573-5.
3. Enhancement of oxidative response and cytokine production by yam mucopolysaccharide in murine peritoneal macrophage.
Yam (Dioscorea batatas) mucopolysaccharide (YMP) was examined for the ability to induce secretory and cellular responses in murine peritoneal macrophages. When macrophages were treated with various doses (10-100 microg/ml) of YMP for 48 h, a significant cytotoxicity against B 16 cells was observed. YMP also increased the myeloperoxidase activity and the production of H(2)O(2), O(2)(-), nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha). However, there was a little alteration on the production of IFN-gamma. These results indicate that reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI), reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) and TNF-alpha are likely major mediators of cytotoxic activity of YMP-treated macrophages.
––Choi EM, Hwang JK. Fitoterapia. 2002 Dec;73(7-8):629-37.
1. Protease inhibitors and carcinoma of the esophagus.
Squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is endemic in parts of South Africa. Previous case-control studies have shown many associations but no clear etiologic pathway has been established. A case-control study of dietary and social factors was performed for 130 patient/control pairs matched for age, gender, and educational level. Staple diet, consumption of wild vegetables, use of tobacco, and traditional beer consumption were compared between the two groups. The results showed that new significant associations were found with the consumption of beans (P = 0.016) and consumption of the full traditional diet of maize, pumpkin, and beans (P = 0.027). Known associations with the consumption of Solanum nigrum (P = 0.018) and with smoking (P = 0.002) were confirmed by multiple regression analysis. It’s concluded that Solanum nigrum, beans, and pumpkin all contain protease inhibitors. Suppression of protease inhibitors can lead to overexpression of growth factors in the esophagus, resulting in a proliferative and oncogenic drive.
––Sammon AM. Cancer 1998 Aug 1;83(3):405-8
2. Sultana S, Perwaiz S, Iqbal M, Athar M. Crude extracts of hepatoprotective plants, Solanum nigrum and Cichorium intybus inhibit free radical-mediated DNA damage. J Ethnopharmacol 1995 Mar;45(3):189-92.
The presence of plant extracts of Solanum nigrum and Cichorium intybus in the reaction mixture containing calf thymus DNA and free radical generating system protect DNA against oxidative damage to its deoxyribose sugar moiety. The effect was dependent on the concentration of plant extracts. However, the effect of Cichorium intybus was much pronounced as compared to the effect of Solanum nigrum. These studies suggest that the observed hepatoprotective effect of these
crude plant extracts may be due to their ability to suppress the oxidative degradation of DNA in the tissue debris.
1. Regulation of Bcl-2 family molecules and activation of caspase cascade involved in gypenosides-induced apoptosis in human hepatoma cells.
Herbal medicines are increasingly being utilized to treat a wide variety of disease processes. Gypenosides (Gyp) are triterpenoid saponins contained in an extract from Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino and reported to induce apoptosis in human hepatoma cells. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the Gyp-induced apoptotic process is unclear. In this study, we found that Gyp induced apoptosis in human hepatoma Huh-7, Hep3B and HA22T cell lines as evidenced by morphological changes, 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining and in situ terminal transferase-mediated dUTP-fluorescensin nick end-labeling assay. Our data demonstrated that Gyp-induced apoptotic cell death was accompanied by up-regulation of Bax, Bak and Bcl-X(L), and down-regulation of Bcl-2 and Bad, while it had no effect on the level of Bag-1 protein. Moreover, Gyp treatment caused the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c to cytosol and sequential activation of caspases, including caspase-1, -9 and -3, then leading to cleavage of poly-ADP-ribose polymerase. Furthermore, the Gyp-induced apoptosis was markedly blocked by the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-fmk. Taken together, these results suggest that treatment of human hepatoma cells with Gyp induced apoptosis through the up-regulation of Bax and Bak, and down-regulation of Bcl-2, release of mitochondrial cytochrome c and activation of caspase cascade.
––Wang QF, Chen JC, Hsieh SJ, Cheng CC, Hsu SL. Cancer Lett. 2002 Sep 26;183(2):169-78.
2. Effect of gynostemma pentaphyllum mak on carcinomatous conversions of golden hamster cheek pouches induced by dimethylbenzanthracene: a histological study.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of gynostemma pentaphyllum mak (GP) on carcinomatous conversions of leukoplasia of the golden hamster cheek pouch induced by dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA). METHODS: 284 golden hamsters, ranging from 4 to 8 weeks of age, 80 to 100 grams in weight were randomly divided into three groups: control, model and experimental groups. Control group (8 hamsters) were sacrificed at week 0 and week 12 for control. Model group (123 hamsters) were pasted in bilateral cheek pouches with 0.5% DMBA, 3 times a week for establishment of experimental leukoplasia, and sacrificed at week 2 to week 9 (12-22 hamsters were sacrificed a week). Experimental group (153 hamsters) were divided into three subgroups. Subgroup A underwent simultaneous DMBA pasting and oral taking of GP, and were sacrificed at week 6 and week 9. Subgroup B underwent oral taking of GP for 12 weeks after completion of DMBA pasting. Subgroup C underwent DMBA pasting after completion of oral taking of GP for 12 weeks. RESULTS: The earliest epithelial dysplasia and carcinoma in situ occurred at week 3 and week 6 after DMBA pasting. There were significant differences between subgroup B and model group for 3 weeks' administration of DMBA (P < 0.05), and between subgroup C and model group (P < 0.01), while there was no difference between subgroup B and model group for 6 week's administration of DMBA (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: GP could inhibit and reverse the carcinomatous conversions of leukoplasia of golden hamster cheek pouches, indicating its positive anticarcinogenic effect.
––Zhou Z, Wang Y, Zhou Y, Zhang S. Chin Med J (Engl). 1998 Sep;111(9):847-50.
1. Lu CM, Yang JJ, Wang PY, Lin CC. A new acylated flavonol glycoside and antioxidant effects of Hedyotis diffusa. Planta Med 2000 May;66(4):374-7.
A study on the bioactive principles of Hedyotis diffusa Willd., led to the isolation of a new acyl flavonol di-glycoside which was characterized as kaempferol 3-O[2"-O-(E-6'"-O-feruloyl)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-beta-D-galactop yranoside by spectral and chemical methods from the methanolic extract. In addition, three known flavonol glycosides and six known iridoid glycosides were also obtained. The above-mentioned glycosides were tested for antioxidant effects on xanthine oxidase inhibition, xanthine-xanthine oxidase cytochrome c and TBA-MDA systems.
2. Han F, Hu J, Xu H. Effects of some Chinese herbal medicine and green tea antagonizing mutagenesis caused by cigarette tar. Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 1997 Mar;31(2):71-4.
Anti-mutagenic effects of some Chinese herbal medicine and green tea antagonizing cigarette tar was studied with unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) test in human peripheral lymphocytes in order to exploit the better use of Chinese herbal resources. Results showed that Scutellaria barbata, Hedyotis diffusa wildi, Xihuangwan, green tea and tea polyphenol all had anti-mutagenic effects,
to some extent. And, 125 g/L of Scutellaria barbata, 125 g/L Hedyotis diffusa wildi, 325 g/L Xihuangwan, 78 g/L green tea and 25 g/L tea polyphenol could inhibit obviously the damage to DNA in lymphocytes caused by the total particle material (TPM) extracted from cigarette tar. If the Chinese herbal medicine and green tea were injected into cigarettes beforehand, extracted TPM (containing herbal medicine and green tea) also could protect DNA in lymphocytes from damage caused by cigarette tar, to even greater extent. This result is basically consistent with other anti-mutagenesis tests.