Antitumor action of a Chinese medicine ELXCHT and its mechanism

AIM: To observed the antitumor effect and primary mechanism of E Lian Xiao Chai Hu Tang(ELXCHT),and to investigate its effect on immunologic function and side effect.METHODS: Different doses of ELXCHT(the high,middle and low concentration groups) were given to the treated mice,and equal volume of normal saline was applied to control group(negative control).Cytoxan(CTX) was used as positive control(CTX treatment group).Through the observation of tumor growth,the body weight,thymus coefficient,spleen coefficient,and tumor tissue structure under light microscope and electron microscope were determined.The antitumor effect of ELXCHT,the influence on immunity and side effect were observed.RESULTS: Compared to control group,all the ELXCHT treatment groups showed more obvious inhibition ratio(P0.05).The high concentration ELXCHT group showed similar inhibition ratio as the CTX treatment group(P0.05).Compared to CTX treatment group,ELXCHT greatly strengthened the immunity function.The thymus coefficient and spleen coefficient in high concentration ELXCHT group were higher(P0.05).The toxicity of ELXCHT was very low,the body weights among mice were not statistically different before experiment(P0.05),the body weights in all ELXCHT treatment groups were statistically higher(P0.05) than those in CTX treatment group,the body weights in high or mid concentration ELXCHT group were statistically higher(P0.05) than that in control group.Apoptosis and necrosis of tumor cells and the apoptosis body phagocytized by macrophages were found in all ELXCHT groups under the light and electron microscope,and the high concentration ELXCHT group had the strongest effect.The tumor cells in CTX group were mainly necrosis.CONCLUSION: ELXCHT inhibits the growth of tumor cells and enhances the immunologic function with the least side effect.