Evaluation of Antifungal Effects of a Traditional Medicine Containing 17 Components on Trichophyton verrucosum and Malassezia pachydermatis by Microdilution

In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Kampo Medicine Water Extracts against Trichophyton Rubrum

Kampo medicines consist of a variety of crude animal, plant, and mineral extracts that have long been used to relieve different symptoms, and are relatively safe. However, their mechanisms of actions have not been well investigated. We screened 61 commercially available Kampo medicines to determine if they contain constituents with antifungal activity against Trichophyton rubrum. The antifungal effect of the Kampo medicines was determined by measuring the mean absorbance of treated fungal culture media. Lower absorbance values suggested a higher inhibition of the growth rate of T. rubrum by the Kampo medicines. We found that seven of the evaluated formulations exhibited a comparable antifungal activity to that of fluconazole at 14 mg/mL. The seven active Kampo medicines were Saiko-keishi-kankyou-to, Saiko-ka-ryukotsu-borei-to, Saiko-keishi-to, Keishi-ka-ryukotsu-borei-to, Dai-saiko-to, Bohu-tsu-sho-san, and Otsu-ji-to. The seven Kampo medicines with antifungal activity contain 30 different crude extracts, and Ou-gon (Scutellaria root) is a supplement contained in six of the seven formulations. Therefore, Ou-gon was considered to play a major role in their antifungal effect. The antifungal assay of the Ou-gon water extract showed that it significantly inhibited the growth of T. rubrum at a concentration of 20 mg/mL. Future studies will focus on the isolation and identification of the antifungal components of the crude extracts of Ou-gon, which may be potentially useful, new, and safe antifungal drugs.

Crude extract of Rheum palmatum L inhibits migration and invasion of LS1034 human colon cancer cells acts through the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-2/-9 by MAPK signaling

Crude extract of Rheum palmatum L. (CERP) has been used to treat different diseases in the Chinese population for decades. In this study, we investigated the anti-metastasis effects of CERP on LS1034 human colorectal cancer cells in vitro and examined potential mechanisms of its effects. CERP significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion of LS1034 cells. We also found that CERP inhibited protein levels of matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9), and cytosolic NF-kB p65, RHO A, ROCK 1. Furthermore, we found CERP inhibited protein levels of GRB2, SOS1, MKK7, FAK, Rho A, ROCK 1, VEGF, PKC, AKT, phosphor-AKT (Thr308), Cyclin D, iNOS, COX2, NF-kB p65, p-ERK1/2, p-JNK1/2, p-p38, p-c-jun, MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-1, MMP-7, MMP-10, UPA and increased the protein level of Ras in LS1034 cells. In conclusion, our results suggest that CERP may be used as a novel anti-metastasis agent for the treatment of human colon cancer cells.