Abstract
Sho-Saiko-To (SST) is a modified Japanese traditional Chinese herbal medicine containing
seven medical plants: Bupleuri radix, Pinelliae tuber, Suxtallariae radix, Zizyphi
fructus, Ginseng radix, Glycyrrhizae radix, and Zingiberis recens rhizoma. This preparation
has been used in the treatment of some inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system
and chronic hepatitis. In the present study, the effects of SST were investigated
on the activities of DNA-synthesizing enzymes in 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced
colonic carcinomas in rats. Six-week administration of SST prevented nearly 100% of
the body weight loss and the final number of the colonic carcinomas compared to those
in the rats treated with DMH alone, and suppressed the enhanced activities of thymidylate
synthetase (TS) and thymidine kinase (TK) which were involved in the de novo and salvage pathways of pyrimidine synthesis, respectively, in DMH-induced colonic
carcinomas. These results indicate that SST may show directly and/or indirectly inhibitory
effects on the development of colonic carcinomas.
Key words
Kampo medicine - Sho-Saiko-To - colonic carcinoma - DNA-synthesizing enzyme