Blumea balsamifera extract has possible therapeutic potential in hepatoma cancer patients. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Mechanism of growth inhibitory effect of Blumea balsamifera extract in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2008 May ;72(5):1183-9. Epub 2008 May 7. PMID: 18460811
Toshio Norikura
Blumea balsamifera is known to improve physiological disorders such as rheumatism and hypertension, but its anticancer activity has not been well elucidated. In this study, we found that Blumea balsamifera MeOH extract (BME) induced growth-inhibitory activity in rat and human hepatocellular carcinoma cells without cytotoxicity in rat hepatocytes which were used as a normal cell model. BME induced cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase via decreases in the expression of cyclin-E and phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein. Furthermore, BME reduced the level of a proliferation-inducing ligand, that stimulates tumor cell growth. These findings suggest that BME has possible therapeutic potential in hepatoma cancer patients and that depletion of cellular APRIL is an important mechanism in the growth-inhibitory effect of BME.