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Brucea javanica oil emulsion (BJOE) has been used to treat tumor in China for more than 40 years. However, its components and effectiveness in the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and its mechanism of anti-cancer activity remain unknown. In the current study, high-performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD) was used to analyze the components of BJOE. Then, the anti-leukemia effects of BJOE were examined both in vitro and in vivo using ALL Jurkat cells and the p388 mouse leukemia transplant model, respectively. The primary ALL leukemia cells were also used to confirm the anti-leukemia effects of BJOE. The apoptotic-related results indicated that BJOE induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells and were suggestive of intrinsic apoptotic induction. Moreover, BJOE inhibited Akt (protein kinase B) activation and upregulated its downstream targets p53 and FoxO1 (forkhead box gene, group O-1) to initiate apoptosis. The activation of GSK3 β was also involved. Our findings demonstrate that BJOE has anti-leukemia effects on ALL cells and can induce apoptosis in Jurkat cells through the phosphoinositide3-kinase (PI3K) /Akt signaling pathway. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present study was designed to further investigate the C 21 steroidal glycosides in Cynanchum plants. Two new steroidal glycosides based on a 13, 14:14, 15-disecopregnane-type aglycone, komaroside P (1) and komaroside Q (2), together with three known compounds (3 – 5) were isolated from the whole herbs of Cynanchum komarovii. The aglycones of compounds 1 and 2 were two new disecopregnane. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR spectroscopic data and acid hydrolysis. All the compounds (1 – 5) showed potent inhibitory activities against human leukemia cell lines (HL-60) with IC 50 values ranging from 16.6 to 26.3 μmol·L−1, compared to the positive control 5-fluorouracil (6.4 μmol·L−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]