TCM zeroes in on leukemia
By Cai Wenjun 2008-3-11
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200803/20080311/article_351744.htmCHINESE experts have successfully confirmed a combined therapy using traditional Chinese medicine can treat the most severe form of leukemia.
The experts found Compound Huangdai Tablet, a traditional Chinese medicine with active components of realgar, indigo, and red sage root, was effective in treating acute promyelocythe leukemia on the molecular level.
The research was published in yesterday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a United States-based world leading multidisciplinary scientific serial.
Acute promyelocythe leukemia is the most severe kind of leukemia.
Like drug cocktails in Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicines are usually combination therapies with four well-defined roles for the ingredients.
The roles include the Emperor, Minister, Assistant, and Delivering Servant.
While each element plays a different role, their functions are synergistic.
In Huangdai Tablet, experts found the arsenic-containing ore realgar acts as the Emperor, triggering the destruction of a key leukemia-specific oncoprotein and unblocks pathways allowing cells to escape a cancerous state.
Indirubin, indigo's active ingredient, acts as the Assistant by slowing cell division, and thus cancer growth.
Red sage root's active ingredient strengthens the "healthy" pathways for cells escaping the cancer, filling the role of Minister.
Both act as the Delivering Servant by opening specific pores in cancer cells, which in turn boost the concentration of the Emperor inside the cells.
"In China, there are many similar compound therapies like Huangdai Tablet," said Dr Chen Zhu, the leading researcher and Health Minister in China.
"Using modern methods to explain and confirm their treating mechanism is not only for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine but also for the perfection of TCM formulation," he said.