Background & objective: Raddeanin A, a triterpenoid saponin from Anemone raddeana Regel, has good antitumor activity in vitro. This study was to investigate its antitumor effects on tumor cell xenografts in mice.
Methods: The inhibitory effects of raddeanin A on the proliferation of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma KB cells and ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells were measured by MTT assay. The inhibitory effects of raddeanin A injection on the growth of sarcoma S180, liver cancer H22 and cervical carcinoma U14 cell xenografts in mice and the effect of raddeanin A lavage on the growth of S180 cell xenografts were measured. The acute toxicity of raddeanin A was also measured.
Results: The 50% inhibition concentration (IC(50)) of raddeanin A was 4.64 microg/mL for KB cells and 1.40 microg/mL for SKOV3 cells. When injected with raddeanin A at a dose of 4.5 mg/kg, the growth inhibition rates of S180, H22 and U14 cell xenografts were 60.5%, 36.2% and 61.8%, respectively. When lavaged with raddeanin A at a dose of 200 mg/kg, the growth inhibition rate of S180 cell xenografts was 64.7%. The median lethal dose (LD50) of raddeanin A lavage was 1.1 g/kg and that of raddeanin A injection was 16.1 mg/kg.
Conclusion: Raddeanin A has good antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo, and would be a potential antitumor medicine.