Professor Akihide Liang of the Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University and Professor Yoshito Suzuki of the Faculty of Agriculture, Ibaraki University have discovered a new compound that suppresses the growth of cancer stem cells in the components of Eucommia green leaves, which are the raw materials for Chinese herbal medicine.Since cancer stem cells are not effective against existing anticancer drugs and are the cause of cancer metastasis and recurrence, they are expected to open the way to new drug development.
Professor Liang et al. Named the anti-cancer stem cell growth inhibitor contained in Eucommia ulmoides green leaf, Eucommia ulmoides A.This compound was later found in the fresh leaves of Eucommia ulmoides and is known to be a new natural compound.
Eucommia ulmoides is a deciduous tree native to China, and its bark is used for Chinese herbal medicine and its leaves are used for tea.It has been reported that iridoids and flavonoids contained in Eucommia ulmoides are effective in suppressing tumors.
Cancer stem cells are abundant in tumor tissue, but they have the ability to self-renew and, when transferred to normal tissue, produce the same tumor tissue as the original tumor.However, since anticancer drugs do not work, it causes recurrence and metastasis, and there is an urgent need to establish a method for suppressing growth.The research results were published in the February issue of the academic journal "Phytochemistry".
