title: Down-regulation of prostate specific antigen in LNCaP cells by flavonoids from the pollen of Brassica napus L.
abstract: The pollen of Brassica napus L. has been used in China to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) for over decades. In this study, the pollen of Brassica napus L. was extracted successively with chloroform, ethyl acetate and ethanol. The ethyl acetate extract showed strong activity in decreasing the secretion of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in LNCaP cells as compared to two other extracts, measured by ELISA with finasteride as positive control in the assay. Five flavonoids were subsequently isolated from the active extract using bioassay-guided fractionation. They were Naringenin (1); Luteolin (2); Kaempferol (3); Kaempferol 3-(3-E-p-coumaroyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside) (4); and Kaempferol 3-(2,3-di-E-p-coumaroyl-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside) (5). All these compounds inhibited PSA secretion significantly, with IC50 values in the range of 5-50 microM. Compounds 2, 4 and 5 showed moderate cytotoxicity to LNCaP cells within the active concentration range, while compounds 1 and 3 showed no cytotoxicity. Further studies on the mechanism action of these compounds were performed by evaluating their activation of estrogen receptor (ER) and antagonistic activities on androgen receptor (AR) in cell-based reporter gene assays. All compounds described here were first isolated from the pollen of Brassica napus L.
authors.affiliation: College of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110015, PR China.
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: X P
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: X S
authors.initials: XS
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D029688:Brassica napus; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor / Q000187:drug effects; D017931:DNA Primers; D015536:Down-Regulation; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D008297:Male; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011058:Pollen; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000187:drug effects*; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D012313:RNA / Q000032:analysis; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000235:genetics; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: C410798:AR protein, human; D017931:DNA Primers; D005419:Flavonoids; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011944:Receptors, Androgen; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D012313:RNA; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen