Matrine from Vietnamese sophora root inhibits the growth of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo

Abstract This study investigated the extraction of matrine from Vietnamese sophora root and its in vitro and in vivo inhibitory effects on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells. Matrine was extracted from Vietnamese sophora root using microwave-assisted extraction technology and purified using macroporous adsorption resin. Human OSCC Tca8113 cells were treated with matrine with concentration of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 g/L. The proliferation and apoptosis of cells were detected. OSCC cells were transplanted in the nude mice, and then the nude mice were treated with normal saline, cyclophosphamide (CTX) (20 mg·kg-1) and matrine (100 mg·kg -1), respectively. The optimized extraction parameters of matrine were obtained. The in vitro experiments showed that, matrine inhibit the proliferation of Tca8113 cells and induced the cell apoptosis. The in vivo experiments found that, the tumor inhibition rate of matrine was basically equivalent to that of CTX. In addition, compared with CTX, matrine had no obvious toxic side effect on the liver and kidney function of nude mice. These results indicate that, matrine has obvious in vitro and in vivo inhibitory effects on OSCC cells, with no obvious toxic side effect on the liver and kidney function.

摘要 本研究针对越南槐根中苦参碱（matrine）的提取工艺，及其对口腔鳞状细胞癌（oral squamous cell carcinoma, OSCC）细胞的体内外抑制效应开展了系统探究。研究采用微波辅助提取技术从越南槐根中分离苦参碱，并通过大孔吸附树脂进行纯化。以浓度分别为0、0.5、1、2、4及8 g/L的苦参碱处理人口腔鳞状细胞癌Tca8113细胞，检测细胞增殖与凋亡水平。将OSCC细胞接种至裸鼠体内后，分别以生理盐水、环磷酰胺（cyclophosphamide, CTX，20 mg·kg⁻¹）及苦参碱（100 mg·kg⁻¹）对裸鼠进行给药干预。最终得到优化后的苦参碱提取工艺参数。体外实验结果显示，苦参碱可抑制Tca8113细胞增殖并诱导细胞凋亡；体内实验表明，苦参碱的肿瘤抑制率与CTX基本相当。此外，相较于CTX，苦参碱对裸鼠的肝肾功能无明显毒副作用。综上，苦参碱对OSCC细胞具有显著的体内外抑制活性，且对肝肾功能无明显毒副作用。