14 DAY TRIAL // An ancient Chinese herbal medicine used for treating intestinal disorders could reduce the intestinal side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients, a new study in mice suggests.
This centuries-old traditional Chinese medicine is called Huang Qin Tang (pronounced Hu-ang Chin Tong) and it contains peonies, a purple flower called skullcap, licorice and fruit from a buckthorn tree.
It is used in China too treat diarrhea, nausea and vomiting and a recent Western-style phase 1/2 trial confirmed that it reduces gut damage caused due to chemotherapy in colon and rectal cancer patients.
During the study, researchers treated cancerous mice with chemotherapy, which downsized tumors and caused massive destruction to the animals' intestines.
Yung-Chi Cheng, along with Wing Lam and colleagues from Yale University School of Medicine and a company called PhytoCeutica, Inc., carefully prepared a lab formula of this medicine, which they called PHY906, and tested its healing effects on mice.
After several days of treatment, mice's damaged intestinal linings were restored and scientists found out that the number of cell signaling molecules (Wnts) within the guts of the treated mice was higher than normal.
Further analysis discovered that PHY906 itself did not stimulate Wnts, as the signaling that determined the replacement of damaged intestinal stem cells with healthy ones, was triggered by the mix between PHY906 and a bacterial enzyme common in the gut.
Besides helping the formation of the healthy gut cells, the medicine stopped the migration of inflammatory cells to the intestine and reduced inflammation.
Dr Cheng, who develops traditional Chinese medicine into drugs for the treatment of cancer, said that “The reductionist approach to treating multiple side effects triggered by cancer chemotherapy or complicated disease may not be sufficient, [as] rigorous studies of the biology of traditional herbal medicines, which target multiple sites with multiple chemicals, could lead to the development of future medicines.”
“We will continue to refine these processes to better study and understand the sophisticated nature of herbal medicines,” he said, as “revisiting history may lead us to discovering future medicines.”
Currently, PHY906 is only available for patients taking part in a clinical trial, as the study's authors fear that many herbal products that claim to be Huang Qin Tang could contain harmful or ineffective substitutes, Science Daily reports.
This research appeared in the August 18 issue of Science Translational Medicine, published by AAAS.