Immunostimulating and Anticancer Activities of Hot-water Extracts from Acanthopanax senticosus and Glycyrrhiza uralensis

Abstract

When 10 kinds of herbal medicines were fractionated into hexane, MeOH, cold-water, and hot-water extracts, hot-water extracts from Acanthopanax senticosus (AS), Glycyrrhiza uralensis (GU), Cichorium intybus (CI), and Polygonatum odoratum (PO) showed the potent intestinal immune system modulating activity (1.721-, 1.62-, 1.60-, and 1.53-fold of control at 100 mu g/mL, respectively). Especially, hot-water extracts from AS (215% compared with the control) and GU (187%) also had macrophages stimulating activity and mitogenic activity of splenocytes (7.1- and 6.5-fold) at 100 mu g/mL. In addition, the effects of hot-water extracts from herbal medicines on anticancer activities were studied in mice. Hot-water extracts from AS and GU enhanced cytotoxicity of natural killer cell against cancer cell, Yac-1 (37 and 34% cytotoxicity) at E/T ratio 100: 1, and colon 26-M3.1 cancer cell lines had significantly inhibited (82.1 and 75.2%) in experimental lung metastasis. These results Suggest that hot-water extracts from A. senticosus and G uralensis call be used as biological response modifiers to stimulate immune system and inhibit tumor.