The anti-leukemic properties of the traditional Chinese herbal preparation Siwu mixture depends in part on polysaccharide from Rehmannia. - GreenMedInfo Summary

OBJECTIVE: To study the main active constituents of Siwu mixture for reversing the multidrug resistance (MDR) of human erythrocyte leukemic cell line K562/ADM. METHOD: Macroporous resin was used to separate Siwu mixture and an in vitro model was used to evaluate the reversal index of each fraction for discovery of active fraction. HPLC-MS was used for investigating the main active constituents of Siwu mixture. RESULT: The reversal index of the gross polysaccharide of Rehmannia glutinosa was significantly higher than that of blank control (P < 0.01). There was little difference between the reversal effect of the gross polysaccharide of Rehmannia glutinosa and that of the active fraction A (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The gross polysaccharide of Rehmannia glutinosa is one of the main active constituents of Siwu mixture.