防癌草藥 半枝蓮可令癌組織枯死

半枝蓮可令癌組織枯死

名稱：半枝蓮
科別：唇形科
繁殖：種子
分類：濕地植物
花期：秋季開淺藍紫色花
習性：生於陰濕地草本植物
用途：藥用

【大紀元2004年7月11日訊】據BBC報導，英國的研究人員發現，中草藥半枝蓮的提煉物可以用來對付癌組織。半枝蓮是一種類似薄荷的唇型科植物，在傳統中藥方面用來治療腫瘤。

專家發現，半枝蓮（Scutellaria barbata）的提煉物製成的一種藥可以破壞為癌組織供應血液的血管。研究人員說，這種藥比較一般的常用抗癌藥好，因為，一般的藥物對健康細胞和癌細胞同樣起作用。英國索爾福德大學的麥高恩教授希望可以在不久的將來在癌症病人身上使用這種新開發的藥物。

進行試驗到目前為止，有關的實驗都在實驗室中進行。專家在實驗中所使用的是來自人體的乳腺癌和肺癌組織。研究發現，半枝蓮提煉物主要針對癌組織的血管，使癌組織因為得不到氧氣和養分供應而壞死。參加研究的達奇博士說，他們開發的新藥物有獨特的選擇性，只對付為癌組織供應血液的血管，並不危害那些連接到正常組織的血管。

副作用少
達奇博士說，傳統藥物除了對付癌組織外也對健康細胞構成影響，因此有不少副作用。
她認為，新藥物不會令病人出現從前那麼多的不良反應。研究小組希望可以得到更多資金，以便在未來數年內在病人身上進行試驗。

負責研究工作的麥高恩教授說，在病人身上做試驗之前，他們仍然有不少工作需要做，但是，這方面的研究是令人感到興奮的。英國癌病研究組織發言人說，半枝蓮在中國傳統醫藥中一直用來治療包括一些腫瘤在內的多種病症，現在的發現確實令人感到非常有興趣﹔有關方面一定要對半枝蓮的有效成分作更深入的研究。

目前在美國, 半支蓮粹取物己通過人体試驗, 新的末期乳癌葯品 BZL101, developed by Bionovo Inc., is derived from the Asian botanical herba Scutellaria Barbata, 在市場販賣. 茲將其文章轉載如下:

Extract from Scutellaria Barbata may treat breast cancer
21. 二月 2006 16:59 GA_googleFillSlot("NewsMedicalSquares");

A new clinical formulation extracted from a botanical may provide physicians with a new tool in treating aggressive late-stage breast cancer.

The oral anti-cancer drug BZL101, developed by Bionovo Inc., is derived from the Asian botanical herba Scutellaria Barbata. Bionovo researchers believe the herb's main agent has the ability to specifically identify and target malignant cells, leaving normal cells intact and healthy.
BZL101 works by eliciting a cancer cell's innate mechanism of self-suicide, or apoptosis. The drug selectively releases Apoptosis Inducing Factor-1 (AIF1) from a cancer cell's mitochondrial membrane. AIF then moves to the cell's nucleus, disintegrating the DNA structure, and fragmenting and killing the cancer cell.

Bionovo's scientists have shown that although AIF exists in all cells, this protein-translocation process can be elicited exclusively in cancer cells while avoiding normal cells. "In the cell, AIF is responsible for killing cells that don't perform their intended functions or cells that are not in their proper place such as cancer cells which lose functions through mutations and invade local and distant tissues," said Dr. Isaac Cohen, Bionovo's President and CEO.
Researchers at The University of California at San Francisco and the Komen/UT Southwestern Breast Cancer Research Program at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently completed a phase I study on BZL101. They reported favorable data from these trials at the 28th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

As described at the symposium, from the initial study of 21 patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer, 16 patients were evaluated for final results. It was concluded that four of the 16 patients had stable disease for greater than 90 days and three of the 16 had stable disease that lasted more than 180 days. Five patients in the trial had objective tumor regression. All 16 patients demonstrated little to no side effects from the drug.

Debu Tripathy, M.D., Director of the Komen/UT Southwestern Breast Cancer Research Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center, commented: "We are encouraged by the results of this study, which underscore BZL101 as an effective new oral treatment for the more than 45,000 women diagnosed each year with the aggressive late-stage of this disease."
"While safety was the primary endpoint of the trial, it is worth noting that BZL101 showed elements of clinical efficacy similar to what we have observed in early-stage studies of currently marketed therapies. Future studies are planned to explore the drug further," said Dr. Tripathy.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death, with more than 200,000 new cases each year.
http://www.bionovo.com/