Recent research has demonstrated that Chrysanthemum indicum possesses antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective effects. The anticancer activity of Chrysanthemum indicum, especially in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), appears quite promising.
An article published on September 28, 2009 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology reported findings by a research team led by Prof. Zong-fang Li from the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi’an Jiaotong University. The team investigated the effects of Chrysanthemum indicum extract (CIE) on inhibition of proliferation and on apoptosis, and the underlying mechanisms, in a human HCC MHCC97H cell line. The article may be viewed online.
The results showed CIE inhibited proliferation of MHCC97H cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner without cytotoxicity to normal cells. CIE induced apoptosis of MHCC97H cells in a concentration-dependent manner, as determined by flow cytometry. The apoptosis was accompanied by a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, release of cytochrome C and activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. CIE arrested the cell cycle in the S phase by increasing P21 and decreasing CDK4 protein expression.
The researchers drew a conclusion that CIE exerted a significant apoptotic effect through a mitochondrial pathway and arrested the cell cycle by regulation of cell cycle-related proteins in MHCC97H cells without an effect on normal cells. The cancer-specific selectivity shown in their study suggests that the plant extract could be a promising novel treatment for human cancer without side effects.
The researchers noted that “Ethnopharmacology used in folk medicine continues to be an important source of discovery and development of novel therapeutic agents in cancer. The flowers of Chrysanthemum indicum, a Compositae plant, is common in ethnopharmacology, and has long had wide spread use in the treatment of hypertension, colitis, pneumonia and carbuncles by traditional Chinese practitioners.” It is refreshing to see such open acknowledgement by modern medical researchers of the importance of traditional herbal medicine. It is interesting to note that effective treatment in this study came from a naturally occurring substance and that it caused no damage to normal cells, and hence no unwanted side effects. This is in marked contrast to the outcomes when using artificial or human-made pharmacological agents, where, even when they do work, they always cause unwanted, and frequently lethal, side effects.
Tags: cancer, herbal medicine