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Received Sep 12, 2017; Revised Jan 12, 2018; Accepted Jan 16, 2018
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1. Introduction
Liver cancer, also known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and fewer special cases, which could include hepatoblastoma and angiosarcoma [1], is the 6th most common type of cancer in the world, with over 700,000 newly diagnosed patients per year. This burden of hepatocellular carcinoma will keep increasing till 2030 [2]. Moreover, smoking, alcohol abuse, and a history of diabetes mellitus may exacerbate the development of HCC [3]. Fluorouracil and tegafur are common, but not satisfactory, treatment of liver cancer, since they may lead to critical side effects and drug resistance [4]. A more effective therapy at present for liver cancer is transplantation, which, unfortunately, possesses a higher chance of metastasis and recurrence for such surgical resection [5]. Despite lack of scientific verification Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been extensively used to treat different kinds of diseases due to its low toxicity, no drug resistance, and high efficiency [6, 7]. Therefore the development of active ingredients derived from TCM, which possess better effectiveness and lower toxicity, has become an urgently necessary study for improving the treatment of liver cancer.
Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent. has been extensively applied to treat cough, pertussis, pharyngitis, acute or chronic bronchitis, and other respiratory disorders. Current studies showed that TF are the main active components of Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent. [8], which mainly contains oroxylin A, oroxylin B, chrysin, chrysin-7-O-β-D glycosides, baicalein, and so on [9], with many pharmacological functions such as antiallergic [10], antioxidant [11], antimicrobial [12], anti-inflammatory [13], and antitumor [14] functions. However, investigations on the antihepatoma effects of TF are limited, and the possible molecular mechanisms of the antitumor effects are still unrevealed. The present study was therefore aimed at investigating antitumor effect of TF and its possible molecular mechanisms.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Isolation and Purification of the TF
Oroxylum indicum was purchased from Tongrentang Pharmacy and authenticated by Professor Yanjun Zhai (School of Pharmacy, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Liaoning, China) as dry seeds of Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent....