Cancer Lett. 2000 Sep; 158(1): 53-9.

Anti-tumor-promoting activity of lignans from the aerial part of Saussurea medusa.

Takasaki M, Konoshima T, Komatsu K, Tokuda H, Nishino H.

Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Yamashina-ku, 607-8414, Kyoto, Japan.

In the course of our continuing search for novel cancer chemopreventive agents from natural sources, several kinds of Compositae plants were screened. Consequently, the lignans, arctiin (ARC) and arctigenin (ARC-G), were obtained from the aerial part of Saussurea medusaas active constituents. These compounds exhibited the remarkable anti-tumor-promoting effect on two-stage carcinogenesis test of mouse skin tumors induced by 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene as an initiator and 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate as a promoter by both topical application and oral administration. Furthermore, ARC-G exhibited potent anti-tumor-promoting activity on two-stage carcinogenesis test of mouse pulmonary tumors induced by 4-nitroquinoline-N-oxide as an initiator and glycerol as a promoter.