Anticancer Actions of Pueraria montana and Pueraria lobata by Joseph J Collins, RN, ND
Extracts from Pueraria species have been shown to have significant antiproliferative effects on breast cancer cell lines, including MCF-7, ZR-75-1, MDA-MB-231, SK-BR-3, and Hs578T [1]. Of interest, the antiproliferative affect may also be efficient in the prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis [2]. The metabolites of Pueraria in the blood can inhibit proliferation of the breast cancer cells, suggesting that Pueraria may act as a chemopreventive and/or chemotherapeutic agent against breast cancer by reducing cell viability and inducing apoptosis (cancer cell death) [3]. Puerarin, an isoflavone in Pueraria, can cause a reduction in HT-29 colon cancer cells [4]. Other Pueraria isoflavones may be a possible therapeutic agent for leukemia [5]. Pueraria extracts can increase safety and effectiveness of some other anticancer agents [6], [7], [8], [9], [10]. However, it may actually increase the half-life of other anticancer agents, so that the dosage of anticancer drugs could be lowered [11].
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References
To review the PubMed listing of any reference, go to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/ and enter the PubMed PMID number at the end of the reference.
[1] Jeon GC, Park MS, Yoon DY, Shin CH, Sin HS, Um SJ. Antitumor activity of spinasterol isolated from Pueraria roots. Exp Mol Med. 2005 Apr 30;37(2):111-20. PubMed PMID: 15886524]
[2] Li H, Luo K, Hou J. Inhibitory effect of Puerariae radix flavones on platelet-derived growth factor-BB-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells via PI3K and ERK pathways. Exp Ther Med. 2015 Jan;9(1):257-261. Epub 2014 Nov 17. PubMed PMID: 25452812
[3] Lin YJ, Hou YC, Lin CH, Hsu YA, Sheu JJ, Lai CH, Chen BH, Lee Chao PD, Wan L, Tsai FJ. Puerariae radix isoflavones and their metabolites inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 Jan 23;378(4):683-8. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2008.10.178. Epub 2008 Nov 14. PubMed PMID: 19013426
[4] Yu Z, Li W. Induction of apoptosis by puerarin in colon cancer HT-29 cells. Cancer Lett. 2006 Jul 8;238(1):53-60. Epub 2005 Aug 1. PubMed PMID: 16055262.[5] Lee KT, Sohn IC, Kim YK, Choi JH, Choi JW, Park HJ, Itoh Y, Miyamoto K. Tectorigenin, an isoflavone of Pueraria thunbergiana Benth., induces differentiation and apoptosis in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. Biol Pharm Bull. 2001 Oct;24(10):1117-21. PubMed PMID: 11642314.
[6] Yang YI, Lee KT, Park HJ, Kim TJ, Choi YS, Shih IeM, Choi JH. Tectorigenin sensitizes paclitaxel-resistant human ovarian cancer cells through downregulation of the Akt and NFκB pathway. Carcinogenesis. 2012 Dec;33(12):2488-98. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgs302. Epub 2012 Oct 1. PubMed PMID: 23027625.
[7] Tripathi YB, Nagwani S, Mishra P, Jha A, Rai SP. Protective effect of Pueraria tuberosa DC. embedded biscuit on cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in mice. J Nat Med. 2012 Jan;66(1):109-18. doi: 10.1007/s11418-011-0559-1. Epub 2011 Jun 30.PubMed PMID: 21717089.
[ 8] Nagwani S, Tripathi YB. Amelioration of cisplatin induced nephrotoxicity by PTY: a herbal preparation. Food Chem Toxicol. 2010 Aug-Sep;48(8-9):2253-8. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2010.05.057. Epub 2010 May 25. PubMed PMID: 20510324.
[9] Hien TT, Kim HG, Han EH, Kang KW, Jeong HG. Molecular mechanism of suppression of MDR1 by puerarin from Pueraria lobata via NF-kappaB pathway and cAMP-responsive element transcriptional activity-dependent up-regulation of AMP-activated protein kinase in breast cancer MCF-7/adr cells. Mol Nutr Food Res.2010 Jul;54(7):918-28. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.200900146. PubMed PMID: 20077420.
[10] Yu HH, Jung SY, Shin MK, Park R, So HS, You YO. Pueraria thunbergiana inhibits cisplatin-induced damage of HEI-OC1 auditory cells through scavenging free radicals. Phytother Res. 2010 Jun;24(6):834-9. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3027. PubMed PMID: 19957243.
[11] Chiang HM, Fang SH, Wen KC, Hsiu SL, Tsai SY, Hou YC, Chi YC, Chao PD. Life-threatening interaction between the root extract of Pueraria lobata and methotrexate in rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2005 Dec 15;209(3):263-8. Epub 2005 Jun 3. PubMed PMID: 15936791.