Cimigenol

Cancer Manag Res. 2018 Dec 6;10:6715-6729.

Anticancer efficiency of cycloartane triterpenoid derivatives isolated from Cimicifuga yunnanensis Hsiao on triple-negative breast cancer cells.[Pubmed: 30584366 ]

The roots and rhizomes of Cimicifuga yunnanensis Hsiao are commonly used as anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic remedies and detoxification agents in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Although C. yunnanensis has been considered as supplementary medicine for several disorders, the antitumor effect of this herb and its key components has not been explored.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
The rhizomes of C. yunnanensis were isolated by chromatographic techniques. Structures of isolated compounds were identified based on spectroscopic methods and comparison with published data. The in vitro anticancer activities of purified components were also performed by MTT experiments. The in vivo anticancer activities were examined by subcutaneous tumor model or a breast cancer liver metastasis model. In this study, we aimed to identify and characterize the effective antitumor components from the rhizomes of C. yunnanensis. By bioassay-guided fractionation techniques and chemical characterization, 12 cycloartane triterpenes and four chromones were isolated, among them, 11 compounds were identified in this genus at first. The identified two compounds showed dramatic inhibitory activities against breast cancer cells: compound 4 (23-epi-26-deoxyactein) and compound 13 (Cimigenol). Then, we examined the antitumor effect of these two selective candidate chemicals on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells in vivo and found that they could reduce tumor growth in subcutaneous tumor model or breast cancer liver metastasis model.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results suggested that the selective compounds isolated from C. yunnanensis Hsiao could be the promising new agents for TNBC treatment.

Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 2012;60(5):571-7.

Studies on the constituents of Cimicifuga foetida collected in Guizhou Province and their cytotoxic activities.[Pubmed: 22689393 ]

METHODS AND RESULTS:
Two new triterpenoids and a chromone glycoside, namely, 24-epi-Cimigenol-3-one (1), foetinoside (2), cimifugin-4'-O-[6″-feruloyl]-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), together with 18 known compounds, were isolated from the rhizomes of Cimicifuga foetida L. collected in Guizhou Province, China. All of the compounds were identified by spectroscopic methods, as well as chemical methods.
CONCLUSIONS:
In the in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of these compounds against 5 human cancer cell lines, Cimigenol (8) exerted the most potent cytotoxic activity against SMMC-7721 (7.87 µM) and A-549 (12.16 µM), while cimiacerin B (9) also showed obvious cytotoxicity against the A-549 cell line, with an IC(50) value of 16.77 µM.

Oncol Rep. 2017 Apr;37(4):2079-2086.

A novel cycloartane triterpenoid from Cimicifuga induces apoptotic and autophagic cell death in human colon cancer HT-29 cells.[Pubmed: 28260002]

The extract from Cimicifuga, a genus of flowering plants, has been demonstrated to have mainly therapeutic effects on menstrual and menopausal symptoms and also exhibits immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity. Moreover, the anticancer effects of Cimicifuga have been reported, but the underlying mechanism causing cancer cell death has been poorly described.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
The present study was designed to investigate the antitumor effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of Cimigenol (KY17), a novel cycloartane triterpenoid from Cimicifuga. KY17-induced autophagy and apoptotic cell death in human colon cancer cells (HT-29) was investigated. KY17 treatment induced growth inhibition and apoptotic cell death in a concentration-dependent manner. The induction of apoptosis was confirmed by a change in cell morphology, and an increase in the G2/M phase, as well as increased protein levels of cleaved-caspase-8 and -3; cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) in the HT-29 cells following KY17 treatment. In addition, autophagy was evaluated by the accumulation of acridine orange, the appearance of green fluorescent protein-light-chain 3 (LC3) punctate structures and increased levels of LC3-II protein expression. Furthermore, combination treatment with the autophagy inhibitor bafilomycin A1 enhanced the induction of apoptosis by KY17.
CONCLUSIONS:
Taken together, the present study provides new insight into the role of KY17 as a potential antitumor compound. Combination of KY17 with an autophagy inhibitor may be a valuable strategy for the chemoprevention or treatment of colon cancer.