title: The Anticancer Properties of Herba Epimedii and Its Main Bioactive Componentsicariin and Icariside II.
abstract: Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. Compounds derived from traditional Chinese medicines have been an important source of anticancer drugs and adjuvant agents to potentiate the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs and improve the side effects of chemotherapy. Herba Epimedii is one of most popular herbs used in China traditionally for the treatment of multiple diseases, including osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction, hypertension and common inflammatory diseases. Studies show Herba Epimedii also possesses anticancer activity. Flavonol glycosides icariin and icariside II are the main bioactive components of Herba Epimedii. They have been found to possess anticancer activities against various human cancer cell lines in vitro and mouse tumor models in vivo via their effects on multiple biological pathways, including cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis, and a variety of signaling pathways including JAK2-STAT3, MAPK-ERK, and PI3k-Akt-mTOR. The review is aimed to provide an overview of the current research results supporting their therapeutic effects and to highlight the molecular targets and action mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. cmx023@126.com.
authors.forename: Meixia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. wujinfeng21@163.com.
authors.forename: Jinfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. qingqingluo2010@163.com.
authors.forename: Qingli
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. moshuming0703@163.com.
authors.forename: Shuming
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. lvyubao80313@163.com.
authors.forename: Yubao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. weiying_acup@126.com.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China. jcdong2004@126.com.
authors.forename: Jingcheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dong
mesh_terms: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008517:Phytotherapy
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D005419:Flavonoids; C046314:epimedii flavone; C060988:baohuoside I; C056599:icariin
keywords: Herba Epimedii; anticancer properties; icariin; icariside II