Andrographolide

Andrographolide is a botanical product extracted from a herb that occurs naturally in China. The herb has an extensive history of use in TCM for the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections and other inflammatory and infectious diseases. Andrographis paniculata was introduced and cultivated in Guangdong and southern Fujian in 50s. It is used to treat a variety of infectious diseases and snake bites. In recent years, the cultivation, chemical composition, pharmacology and clinical aspects of Andrographis paniculata have been studied in China. Andrographis paniculata is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effects of clearing away heat and toxin, cooling blood and detumescence. Clinically, it is mainly used for the treatment of respiratory tract infection, acute bacillary dysentery, gastroenteritis, cold, fever and hypertension. With the increase of antibiotic abuse and adverse reactions, the voice of developing traditional Chinese medicine with good antibacterial effect is growing. Andrographis paniculata, as a traditional Chinese medicine with antibacterial effect, has been paid more and more attention by the pharmaceutical industry

Andrographis paniculata plant extract is known to possess a variety of pharmacological activities. Andrographolide, the major constituent of the extract is implicated towards its pharmacological activity. We studied the cellular processes and targets modulated by andrographolide treatment in human cancer and immune cells. Andrographolide treatment inhibited the in vitro proliferation of different tumor cell lines, representing various types of cancers. The compound exerts direct anticancer activity on cancer cells by cell-cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase through induction of cell-cycle inhibitory protein p27 and decreased expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4). Immunostimulatory activity of andrographolide is evidenced by increased proliferation of lymphocytes and production of interleukin-2. Andrographolide also enhanced the tumor necrosis factor-alpha production and CD marker expression, resulting in increased cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes against cancer cells, which may contribute for its indirect anticancer activity. The in vivo anticancer activity of the compound is further substantiated against B16F0 melanoma syngenic and HT-29 xenograft models. These results suggest that andrographolide is an interesting pharmacophore with anticancer and immunomodulatory activities and hence has the potential for being developed as a cancer therapeutic agent.