Anti-tumor Substance from Panax Kinsenk Roots

Antitumor polyacetylenlc alcohol, panaxytriol (Ci7 H2603), was isolated and purified from a Powder of the root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer. Panaxytriol Possesses unusual Property of being soluble in both water and organic solvents. Panaxytriol inhibited the growth of various kinds of human cultured cell lines in dose-dependent fashion in vitro. The in vivo effects of panaxytriol were tested against C57BU6 mice transplanted with Bl6 melanomas. Panaxytriol (8 and 40 mg/kg) administered intramuscularly (im) produced significant tumor growth delays in mice. Although a detailed mechanism of growth inhibition by panaxytriol is unknown, preliminary results appear to implicate a surface membrane site of action. And its action seems to be more dose-dependent than time-dependent. Finally, panaxytriol pharmacokinetics was evaluated in mice given single 8 mgrkg doses intraperitoneally(ip) or im. Serum panaxytriol content was measured using both tumor growth inhibitory assay and a gas chromatographic method. The maximum serum panaxytriol content after ip and im administration was 35.0 and 1.61 ug/ml respectively. These results indicate that the compound may act as cytotoxic substance even in-patients. Keywords Panax ginseng, panaxytriol, tumor growth inhibition