Aqueous extract of herba Scutellaria barbatae, a chinese herb used for ovarian cancer, induces apoptosis of ovarian cancer cell lines.
OBJECTIVE
Given the increasingly common use of complementary medicine in cancer patients, we tested the in vitro cytotoxicity of aqueous extracts of 15 traditional Chinese herbs with purported anticancer properties on ovarian and breast cancer cell lines.


METHODS
Cell viability after treatment with herbal extract was measured by metabolism of a tetrazolium substrate. Apoptosis was measured by nuclear and DNA fragmentation and Annexin V binding.


RESULTS
One herb, Herba Scutellaria barbatae, was cytotoxic to 100% (11 of 11) of actively proliferating ovarian lines tested and 50% (2 of 4) of actively proliferating breast cell lines tested. Confluent cultures were resistant to killing by herb, whereas subconfluent cultures were sensitive. Resistant proliferating cell lines expressed higher levels of bcl2. Transfection of the most sensitive ovarian cancer cell line (A2780) with bcl2 resulted in a noticeable protection against apoptosis, but there was no protection in other transfected lines.


CONCLUSIONS
These results will be useful in guiding future studies of herbal aqueous extracts, as well as providing information for clinicians when patients are concurrently using these herbs along with conventional cancer therapies.
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
C Bethan
CB
Powell
Philip
P
Fung
Jim
J
Jackson
Joe
J
Dall'Era
Debra
D
Lewkowicz
Isaac
I
Cohen
Karen
K
Smith-McCune
D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000502:physiology; D031363:Scutellaria / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D014867:Water