Ks. Chun et al., Anti-tumor promoting potential of naturally occurring diarylheptanoids structurally related to curcumin, MUT RES-F M, 428(1-2), 1999, pp. 49-57
Citations number
66
Categorie Soggetti
Molecular Biology & Genetics
Journal title
MUTATION RESEARCH-FUNDAMENTAL AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF MUTAGENESIS
In recent years, there have been considerable efforts to search for natural
ly occurring substances for intervention of carcinogenesis. Many components
from medicinal or dietary plants have been identified to possess potential
chemopreventive properties. For instance, curcumin, a yellow colouring age
nt from turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn., Zingiberaceae) has been shown to inh
ibit tumor formation in diverse animal models. Alpinia oxyphylla Miquel tha
t also belongs to ginger family has been used in oriental herbal medicine.
In the present work, we have evaluated the anti-tumor promoting potential o
f yakuchinone A (1-[4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl]-7-phenyl-3-heptanone) and
yakuchinone B (1-[4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl]-7-phenylhept-1-en-3-one), ma
jor pungent ingredients of A. oxyphylla. Thus, topical application of yakuc
hinone A or B significantly suppressed TPA-induced epidermal ornithine deca
rboxylase activity. They also reduced TPA-stimulated production of tumor ne
crosis factor-alpha in cultured human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells.
Both compounds blunted the TPA-induced superoxide generation in differenti
ated HL-60 cells in a concentration-related manner and also inhibited lipid
peroxidation in rat brain homogenates. Furthermore, yakuchinone A and yaku
chinone B nullified the activation of the activator protein-1 (AP-1) in imm
ortalized mouse fibroblast cells in culture. These findings indicate that p
ungent diarylheptanoids from A. oxyphylla have anti-tumor promotional prope
rties that can contribute to their chemopreventive potential. (C) 1999 Else
vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.