This article is a commentary on:
Anti-hyperplasia Effects of Total Saponins From Phytolaccae Radix in Rats With Mammary Gland Hyperplasia via Inhibition of Proliferation and Induction of Apoptosis
Liying Cai
Guoxin Sun2- 1College of Nursing and Rehabilitation, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei, China
- 2School of Clinical Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China
- 3Affiliated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei, China
by Li X, Wang Z, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Lei X, Xin P, Fu X, Gao N, Sun Y, Wang Y, Yang B, Wang Q and Kuang H (2018). Front. Pharmacol. 9:467. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00467
Introduction
Mammary gland hyperplasia (MGH) is a non-tumor, non-inflammatory proliferative breast disease that increases the risk of breast cancer. Early treatment and management can prevent breast cancer, but current treatment methods such as hormone medications and surgery have limitations, including adverse reactions and changes in breast appearance. Therefore, safe and effective treatment methods are needed to address these limitations.
Phytolacca acinosa Roxb and Phytolacca americana L are perennial herbaceous plants belonging to the Phytolaccaceae family, commonly found in tropical or temperate regions like Assam, North-Central China, Japan, Korea, East Himalaya, Vietnam, Arizona, California, and Mexico (Plants of the World Online, 2023a; Plants of the World Online, 2023b). Phytolaccae Radix, a medicinal material, contains diverse chemical compounds such as saponins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, sterols, and polysaccharides, which have been shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory (Liu et al., 2022) and anti-tumor (Jung et al., 2015) activities. Moreover, Phytolaccae Radix has been found to be effective in the treatment of MGH and endometriosis (Gao et al., 2009).
Li et al. (2018), conducted a study in which they treated estrogen and progestogen induced MGH in rats with total saponins of Phytolaccae (TSP). After 1 month of treatment, the researchers observed a significant reduction in nipple swelling in the treated rats. Pathological examination revealed that TSP were as effective as tamoxifen in inhibiting the proliferation of mammary epithelial cells, and they were significantly more effective than the MGH model group. In addition, TSP were found to regulate serum sex hormones levels in MGH rats, inhibit the expression of ERα, PR, bFGFh, and VEGF proteins, induce proliferation cell apoptosis, and exhibit anti-breast hyperplasia effects.
Room for improvement
Although the study yields promising results, there are some limitations that require attention. Firstly, the description of the extraction process of TSP was insufficiently detailed. The source and quantity of plant roots should be disclosed to ensure the reproducibility of experimental results. Additionally, the degree of grinding of plant particles should be clearly stated as it directly affects the concentration of TSP extracted.
Secondly, the authors conducted an analysis of the extract’s composition and discovered the presence of 19 substances. Despite triterpene glycoside being the primary component, there were still other substances detected. Therefore, there is a need for further improvement in serum drug testing to identify the specific substance responsible for the observed effects, which would facilitate further research.
Thirdly, it is necessary to conduct toxicology experiments (Nguyen et al., 2021). Although the efficacy of TSP increased gradually with the dose in the experimental group, a high concentration of total saponins (30 mg/kg) did not show significant superiority over the positive control group (1.5 mg/kg tamoxifen). Conducting further toxicology experiments to establish the safe dosage of medication and setting concentration gradients within the safe dosage range to test the optimal therapeutic concentration would be beneficial. Further increasing the dosage within the safe dosage range may result in better outcomes.
Despite the limitations of this study, the conclusions have important reference and guidance significance. As the authors have stated, TSP are an effective medication that can significantly alleviate symptoms of MGH. Furthermore, researchers should develop more alternative therapies for patients with MGH to enhance their quality of life.
Author contributions
All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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References
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Jung, C., Hong, J. Y., Bae, S. Y., Kang, S. S., Park, H. J., and Lee, S. K. (2015). Antitumor activity of americanin A isolated from the seeds of Phytolacca americana by regulating the ATM/ATR signaling pathway and the skp2-p27 Axis in human colon cancer cells. J. Nat. Prod. 78 (12), 2983–2993. doi:10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00743
Li, X., Wang, Z., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y., Lei, X., Xin, P., et al. (2018). Anti-hyperplasia effects of total saponins from phytolaccae Radix in rats with mammary gland hyperplasia via inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Front. Pharmacol. 9, 467. doi:10.3389/fphar.2018.00467
Liu, Y., Wei, W., Liang, S., Fang, H., and Cao, J. (2022). Esculentoside A alleviates intestinal dysmotility in ulcerative colitis by regulating H2S/cse and NO/nNOS systems. Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med. 2022, 7757833. doi:10.1155/2022/7757833
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Plants of the World Online (2023a). Phytolacca acinosa Roxb. Retrieved from: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:676329-1 (Accessed May 9, 2023).
Plants of the World Online (2023b). Phytolacca americana L. Retrieved from: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:323290-2 (Accessed May 9, 2023).
Keywords: mammary gland hyperplasia, toxicity tests, total saponins of phytolaccae, dose optimization, pharmacodynamic
Citation: Cai L, Sun G and Cheng J (2023) Commentary: Anti-hyperplasia effects of total saponins from phytolaccae radix in rats with mammary gland hyperplasia via inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Front. Pharmacol. 14:1181730. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1181730
Received: 07 March 2023; Accepted: 11 May 2023;
Published: 22 May 2023.
Edited by:
Sawsan A. Zaitone, Suez Canal University, EgyptReviewed by:
Rania M. Salama, Misr International University, EgyptRehab Ahmed, University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
Copyright © 2023 Cai, Sun and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Jie Cheng, chengjie9655@126.com