Dendrobine

Br J Pharmacol. 1983 Apr;78(4):709-15.

Dendrobine, an antagonist of beta-alanine, taurine and of presynaptic inhibition in the frog spinal cord.[Pubmed: 6405832]

METHODS AND RESULTS:
1 The effects of Dendrobine and nobiline, alkaloids isolated from Dendrobium nobile, on the electrical activity and on amino acid-induced depolarizations of primary afferent terminals were tested on the frog isolated spinal cord and were compared with those of picrotoxinin and strychnine. 2 Dendrobine (3 X 10(-5) M) caused a slight hyperpolarization in both dorsal and ventral roots and this hyperpolarization was accompanied by the augmentation of the dorsal root potential (DR-DRP) and the ventral root potential and reflex (DR-VRP and DR-VRR). The amplitude of the dorsal root reflex (DR-DRR) however, was reduced significantly. Nobiline (3 X 10(-5) M) had no significant effect on either the root potentials or the reflexes. 3 Dendrobine (3 X 10(-5) M) reduced the dorsal root potential induced by repetitive antidromic stimulation of ventral root (VR-DRP) as well as diminishing the maximum rate of rise of the dorsal root potential induced by the stimulation of adjacent dorsal roots (DR-DRP), during which time the amplitude of the DR-DRP was seen to be augmented. 4 Dendrobine (3 X 10(-5) M) reduced the beta-alanine- and taurine-induced depolarizations of primary afferent terminals, while having little effect upon GABA- and glycine-induced depolarizations. 5 Dendrobine (10(-5) M) reversibly blocked the presynaptic inhibition caused by antidromic conditioning stimulation of the ventral root. 6 These effects of Dendrobine were qualitatively similar to those of strychnine but were somewhat different from those of picrotoxinin, a molecule having the same picrotoxane skeleton.
CONCLUSIONS:
7 The present results are discussed with reference to the likely neurotransmitters involved in presynaptic inhibition in the frog spinal cord, and with respect to the structure-activity relationship of picrotoxane compounds as amino acid antagonists.

J Agric Food Chem. 2017 May 10;65(18):3665-3674.

Anti-influenza A Virus Activity of Dendrobine and Its Mechanism of Action.[Pubmed: 28417634]

Dendrobine, a major component of Dendrobium nobile, increasingly draws attention for its wide applications in health care.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
Here we explore potential effects of Dendrobine against influenza A virus and elucidate the underlying mechanism. Our results indicated that Dendrobine possessed antiviral activity against influenza A viruses, including A/FM-1/1/47 (H1N1), A/Puerto Rico/8/34 H274Y (H1N1), and A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2) with IC50 values of 3.39 ± 0.32, 2.16 ± 0.91, 5.32 ± 1.68 μg/mL, respectively. Mechanism studies revealed that Dendrobine inhibited early steps in the viral replication cycle. Notably, Dendrobine could bind to the highly conserved region of viral nucleoprotein (NP), subsequently restraining nuclear export of viral NP and its oligomerization.
CONCLUSIONS:
In conclusion, Dendrobine shows potential to be developed as a promising agent to treat influenza virus infection. More importantly, the results provide invaluable information for the full application of the Traditional Chinese Medicine named "Shi Hu".

The HKU Scholars Hub, 2016.

Postgraduate Thesis: Study on the therapeutic effect of dendrobine from dendrobium officinale on non-small cell lung carcinoma.[Reference: WebLink]

Lung cancer is the major cause of cancer deaths around the world, including about 15% of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and approximately 85% non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although clinical outcomes of early-stages of lung cancer have made great progress by advancements in surgery, chemo or radiotherapy and development of molecular targeted therapy, toxicity limits their anticancer efficancy. Chinese medicine with the merits of multi-targets, low toxicity and low risk of drug resistance, has been widely applied for lung cancer treatment in China. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has well established theoretical system, large amount of case reports, thousands years history, TCM still confront much negative, pessimism and skepticism due to lack of laboratory evidences and quality assurance.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
In this study, I aim to screen bioactive compounds in an herb Dendrobium nobile (D. nobile) on the treatment of NSCLC. Apoptosis as a crucial mechanism involved in lung cancer therapy has been studied. Annexin V/PI staining was applied to detect whether bioactive compounds of D. nobile could trigger apoptosis in NSCLC A549 cells. Our results demonstrated that Dendrobine inhibited the growth of A549 cells through inducing apoptosis, which was partially dependent on mitochondrial-mediated pathway. Dendrobine treatment decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), improved the expression of Bax and inhibited the expression of Bcl-2, therefore it was supposed that Dendrobine treatment decreased the MMP through regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax. Dendrobine released cytochrome c and promoted caspase 9 activation indicating that Dendrobine-induced apoptosis is partially caspase-dependent. In TCM theory, blood stasis and Qi stagnation partly result in cancer formation, which is correlated to tumor microenvironment. Tumor spread and metastasis are closely related to tumor cell water permeability and aquaporin 5 (AQP5) expression. Consequently, the therapeutic role of AQP5 on lung cancer treatment was evaluated. AQP5 expression was found to be correlated with lung cancer size. AQP5 silencing in the lung cancer resulted in an inhibition of A549 cells, mitochondrial pathway apoptosis and limited tumorigenic ability. AQP5 inhibition provided a promising therapeutic and preventive strategy for NSCLC. In clinic, in order to avoid unacceptable side effects of the drugs, two or more drugs are usually combined applied to increase therapeutic efficacy while. In this regard, the combination of Dendrobine and cisplatin on the treatment in NSCLC were studied. The combination treatment of cisplatin and Dendrobine displayed enhanced cancer-inhibition toxicity without aggravating more side effects. This study provided a valuable strategy to perfect the anticancer activity of commonly used chemotherapy drugs. Drug combination treatment can make out the full ability of the anticancer efficacy of anticancer drugs and enlarge the using of the drugs to many kinds of cancer types.
CONCLUSIONS:
In this study, preliminary laboratory evidences for applying Dendrobine in lung cancer therapy has been provided. However, its metabolism, synergistic effects with chemodrug and clinical efficacy is needed in further research.