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Ophiocordyceps sinensis, a well-known Chinese complementary herb, is a rare and valuable therapeutic resource. Cordyceps militaris (C. militaris) is a commonly used substitute for O. sinensis. A metabolomic-based approach for exploring the similarities and differences in the metabolites of O. sinensis and C. militaris in water-boiled and 50% ethanol-soaked extracts is of great significance. To distinguish between the global metabolite profiles of O. sinensis and C. militaris extracts obtained from either the water-boiled or 50% ethanol-soaked methods, we investigated the herb samples using 1HNMR-based metabolic fingerprints combined with multivariate statistical analysis. This study revealed that a total of 52 primary metabolites were identified and quantified from O. sinensis and C. militaris samples. Forty-three (83% of 52) metabolites were detectable in both O. sinensis and C. militaris. According to the variable importance in projection (VIP) value and p-value from the Mann-Whitney test, 7 metabolites (alanine, aspartate, glutamate, mannitol, ornithine, serine, and trehalose) differed between O. sinensis and C. militaris. Arginine, glucose, putrescine, pyroglutamate, betaine, O-phosphocholine, and xylose differed significantly between the water-boiled and 50% ethanol-soaked methods used to prepare the herb extracts. This study demonstrated that water-boiled extraction was a much faster method (30 min. vs 360 days) that resulted in a 30% higher number of extracted metabolites (compared to 50% for the ethanol-soaked method) for both O. sinensis and C. militaris.

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The present study investigated the effects of quercetin glucosides, which were isolated from the Chinese onion (Allium chinense), garlic (Allium sativum), onion (Allium cepa L.) and the Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum L.) in HepG2, HT-29 and PC-3 cancer cell lines. Quercetin-3,4'-di-O-glucoside (3,4'-Qdg) and quercetin-4'-O-glucoside (4'-Qmg) comprise ~98% of the flavonoids in the methanol extract of onion. A small amount of 3,4'-Qdg is present in the Welsh onion and Chinese onion, whereas 4'-Qmg is also present in the Welsh onion. In HepG2 cells, 4'-Qmg was demonstrated to exhibit more significant growth inhibition compared with 3,4'-Qdg and quercetin 3-ß-D-glucoside, but exhibited less inhibitory effects in PC-3 and HT-29 cells. These results suggest the anti-proliferative potential of 4'-Qmg in various cancer cell lines and the health benefits of the genus Allium. The findings indicate the potential of 4'-Qmg as an anticancer agent for further development.

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INTRODUCTION: Angelica dahurica Radix is the common herbal medicine with anti-cancer activities. However, details of its anti-cancer activities are lacking. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the anti-cancer effects of Angelica dahurica extract in HT-29 colon cancer cell line. Cell viability, apoptotic and necrotic activities and the mechanism of actions of the active fraction were measured. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The organic extract of Angelica dahurica Radi decreased significantly the gene expression of p53, Bcl, Bax and induced apoptosis via caspase cascade and cell cycle arrest. The ethanol-ethyl acetate fraction showed anti-cancer activities in HT-29 cancer cells. A HPLC-DAD analysis of the fraction indicated the presence of Imperatorin and isoimperatorin, which are the major coumarins in the active fraction that contribute to the anti-cancer activities. CONCLUSIONS: This study has evaluated the ant-cancer activity of the organic extract of Angelica dahurica Radix against colon cancer cells and provided a basis of further development of the herbal extract for treatment of colon cancer.

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Despite advances in medical treatments for colon cancer, it remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality among men. Thus, more efficacious treatment strategies for colon cancer are needed. Imperatorin is one of the major ingredients present in the root of Angelica dahurica, and has been used in herbal formulations for the treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. However, the medical properties of imperatorin remain unclear. In the present study, the anti­proliferative activities of imperatorin were investigated in the HT­29 colon cancer cell line. The results showed that imperatorin significantly inhibited HT­29 colon cancer cell growth with an IC50 value of 78 µM. Imperatorin induced the apoptosis of colon cancer cells through upregulation of p53 and the caspase cascade. Our findings revealed that imperatorin induced cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase. The apoptotic index showed a steady increment when the imperatorin concentration was increased. The results suggest that imperatorin exerts considerable anti­proliferative activities in HT­29 colon cancer cells and highlight the potential of imperatorin as an anticancer agent for colon cancer.

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OBJECTIVE: To study on the effect of been pollen on development of immune organ of animal. METHOD: A total of 144 one day-old broilers were randomly divided into 2 groups, in which each group included 72 chickens. The control group was fed on the basal diet for 42 days, and that of experiment group supplemented 1.5% bee pollen. Six chickens in each group were selected and slaughtered at 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 days respectively, and the thymuses, cloacal bursa and spleens were obtained, weighted, fixed in Bouin liquid and made into paraffin section. RESULT: Compared with control group, the weight and the relative weight of thymuses, cloacal bursa and spleens of experiment group increased significantly (P < 0.05) or extremely significantly (P < 0.01). In experiment group, the cortex of thymic lobule, bursa nodule and Periarterial Lymphatic Sheaths thicken obviously; the volume of bursa nodule, splenic nodule and ellipsoid augmented, and the germinal center of splenic nodule were obvious; the thymic corpuscle increased; the plica of cloacal bursa developed well and the degenerating of it retarded. CONCLUSION: The diet supplemented bee pollen could boost the early development of thymus and cloacal bursa, retard the degenerating of cloacal bursa and promote the immune response of spleen.

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