title: A herbal medicine for the treatment of lung cancer.
abstract: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths throughout the world. Extracts of medicinal plants are believed to contain different chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic compounds. In this study, we determined the anti-cancer property of one of the traditional Indian medicine Rasagenthi Lehyam (RL) for the treatment of lung cancer. Two lung cancer cell lines (A-549 and H-460) and one normal bronchial epithelial (BEAS-2B) cell line were used to test the chemotherapeutic effect of RL. Out of five fractions of RL, chloroform fraction of RL (cRL) demonstrated a significant inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis in A-549 and H-460 cells but not in normal BEAS-2B cells. The cRL fraction up-regulated the pro-apoptotic genes p53 and Bax and induced caspase-3 activation, and down-regulated the pro-survival gene Bcl-2 in both the lung cancer cell lines. Also, nuclear export of p53 was seen in cRL-treated lung cancer cells. In addition, cRL induced G2/M arrest of cell cycle and enhanced the radio-sensitivity of both the lung cancer cell lines. This study suggests that cRL may prove to be a potent anti-cancer agent that may be used for the treatment of lung cancer. However, further studies are required to bring cRL into the mainstream of medicine in the treatment of lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0200, USA.
authors.forename: Rama S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Ranga
authors.forename: Srinivasan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sowmyalakshmi
authors.forename: Ravshan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burikhanov
authors.forename: Mohammed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Akbarsha
authors.forename: Damodaran
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chendil
mesh_terms: D021581:Active Transport, Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D029001:Herbal Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000187:drug effects; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011836:Radiation Tolerance / Q000187:drug effects; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000378:metabolism; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; C509395:Rasagenthi Lehyam; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; C505407:CASP3 protein, human; D053148:Caspase 3; D020169:Caspases