Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Anti-tumor activities of matrine and oxymatrine: literature review

  • Review
  • Published:
Tumor Biology

Abstract

Matrine (MT) and oxymatrine (OMT), two kinds of alkaloid components found in the roots of Sophora species, have various pharmacological activities and are demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-virus, anti-fibrotic, and cardiovascular protective effects. They are recently proved to have anti-cancer potentials, such as inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, inducing cell cycle arrest, accelerating apoptosis, restraining angiogenesis, inducing cell differentiation, inhibiting cancer metastasis and invasion, reversing multidrug resistance, and preventing or reducing chemotherapy- or radiotherapy-induced toxicity when combined with other chemotherapeutic drugs. In this review, we summarize the recent investigations regarding the anti-cancer activities and possible molecular targets of MT and OMT for cancer prevention and treatment in order to provide clues and references for further study.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  1. Cai XZ, Huang WY, Qiao Y, Du SY, Chen Y, Chen D, et al. Inhibitory effects of curcumin on gastric cancer cells: a proteomic study of molecular targets. Phytomedicine. 2013;20:495–505.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Bishayee A, Politis T, Darvesh AS. Resveratrol in the chemoprevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Treat Rev. 2010;36:43–53.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Liu TY, Tan ZJ, Jiang L, Gu JF, Wu XS, Cao Y, et al. Curcumin induces apoptosis in gallbladder carcinoma cell line GBC-SD cells. Cancer Cell Int. 2013;13(1):64.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Wang S, Yu S, Shi W, Ge L, Yu X, Fan J, et al. Curcumin inhibits the migration and invasion of mouse hepatoma Hca-F cells through down-regulating caveolin-1 expression and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. IUBMB Life. 2011;63(9):775–82.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Saleem M, Murtaza I, Tarapore RS, Suh Y, Adhami VM, Johnson JJ, et al. Lupeol inhibits proliferation of human prostate cancer cells by targeting beta-catenin signaling. Carcinogenesis. 2009;30(5):808–17.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Saleem M, Maddodi N, Abu Zaid M, Khan N, bin Hafeez B, Asim M, et al. Lupeol inhibits growth of highly aggressive human metastatic melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis. Clin Cancer Res. 2008;14(7):2119–27.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Funaya N, Haginaka J. Matrine- and oxymatrine-imprinted monodisperse polymers prepared by precipitation polymerization and their applications for the selective extraction of matrine-type alkaloids from Sophora flavescens Aiton. J Chromatogr A. 2012;1248:18–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Lai JP, He XW, Jiang Y, Chen F. Preparative separation and determination of matrine from the Chinese medicinal plant Sophora flavescens Ait by molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2003;375:264–9.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Liu JY, Hu JH, Zhu QG, Li FQ, Wang J, Sun HJ. Effect of matrine on the expression of substance P receptor and inflammatory cytokines production in human skin keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Int Immunopharmacol. 2007;7:816–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Sun J, Mao J, Liu X, Wang Y, Sun Y, He Z. Separation and mechanism elucidation for six structure-like matrine-type alkaloids by micellar liquid chromatography. J Sep Sci. 2009;32:2043–50.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Guzman JR, Koo JS, Goldsmith JR, Muhlbauer M, Narula A, Jobin C. Oxymatrine prevents NF-kappaB nuclear translocation and ameliorates acute intestinal inflammation. Sci Rep. 2013;3:1629.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Cao YG, Jing S, Li L, Gao JQ, Shen ZY, Liu Y, et al. Antiarrhythmic effects and ionic mechanisms of oxymatrine from Sophora flavescens. Phytother Res. 2010;24:1844–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Yang Y, Xiu J, Zhang X, Zhang L, Yan K, Qin C, et al. Antiviral effect of matrine against human enterovirus 71. Molecules. 2012;17:10370–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Chai NL, Fu Q, Shi H, Cai CH, Wan J, Xu SP, et al. Oxymatrine liposome attenuates hepatic fibrosis via targeting hepatic stellate cells. World J Gastroenterol. 2012;18:4199–206.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Li XM, Brown L. Efficacy and mechanisms of action of traditional Chinese medicines for treating asthma and allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009;123:297–306. quiz 7-8.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Liu H, Sun Y, Gao Y, Chen F, Xu M, Liu Z. The analgesic effect and mechanism of the combination of sodium ferulate and oxymatrine. Neurochem Res. 2010;35:1368–75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Kan QC, Zhu L, Liu N, Zhang GX. Matrine suppresses expression of adhesion molecules and chemokines as a mechanism underlying its therapeutic effect in CNS autoimmunity. Immunol Res. 2013;56:189–96.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Zhang J, Li Y, Chen X, Liu T, Chen Y, He W, et al. Autophagy is involved in anticancer effects of matrine on SGC-7901 human gastric cancer cells. Oncol Rep. 2011;26:115–24.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Zhang Y, Zhang H, Yu P, Liu Q, Liu K, Duan H, et al. Effects of matrine against the growth of human lung cancer and hepatoma cells as well as lung cancer cell migration. Cytotechnology. 2009;59:191–200.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Li LQ, Li XL, Wang L, Du WJ, Guo R, Liang HH, et al. Matrine inhibits breast cancer growth via miR-21/PTEN/Akt pathway in MCF-7 cells. Cell Physiol Biochem. 2012;30:631–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Zhang JQ, Li YM, Liu T, He WT, Chen YT, Chen XH, et al. Antitumor effect of matrine in human hepatoma G2 cells by inducing apoptosis and autophagy. World J Gastroenterol. 2010;16:4281–90.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Chen H, Zhang J, Luo J, Lai F, Wang Z, Tong H, et al. Antiangiogenic effects of oxymatrine on pancreatic cancer by inhibition of the NF-kappaB-mediated VEGF signaling pathway. Oncol Rep. 2013;30:589–95.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Jin H, Sun Y, Wang S, Cheng X. Matrine activates PTEN to induce growth inhibition and apoptosis in V600EBRAF harboring melanoma cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2013;14:16040–57.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Zhang S, Zhang Y, Zhuang Y, Wang J, Ye J, Zhang S, et al. Matrine induces apoptosis in human acute myeloid leukemia cells via the mitochondrial pathway and Akt inactivation. PloS One. 2012;7:e46853.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhang L, Wang T, Wen X, Wei Y, Peng X, Li H, et al. Effect of matrine on HeLa cell adhesion and migration. Eur J Pharmacol. 2007;563:69–76.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Yan F, Liu Y, Wang W. Matrine inhibited the growth of rat osteosarcoma UMR-108 cells by inducing apoptosis in a mitochondrial-caspase-dependent pathway. Tumour Biol. 2013;34:2135–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Ramasamy K, Agarwal R. Multitargeted therapy of cancer by silymarin. Cancer Lett. 2008;269:352–62.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Liang CZ, Zhang JK, Shi Z, Liu B, Shen CQ, Tao HM. Matrine induces caspase-dependent apoptosis in human osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo through the upregulation of Bax and Fas/FasL and downregulation of Bcl-2. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2012;69:317–31.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Zhao B, Li B, Bai S, Shen L, Ren R, Jonas JB, et al. Effects of matrine on proliferation and apoptosis of cultured retinoblastoma cells. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2012;250:897–905.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Xing Y, Yan F, Liu Y, Liu Y, Zhao Y. Matrine inhibits 3 T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation associated with suppression of ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2010;396:691–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Yu HB, Zhang HF, Li DY, Zhang X, Xue HZ, Zhao SH. Matrine inhibits matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. J Asian Nat Prod Res. 2011;13:242–50.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Wang YP, Zhao W, Xue R, Zhou ZX, Liu F, Han YX, et al. Oxymatrine inhibits hepatitis B infection with an advantage of overcoming drug-resistance. Antiviral Res. 2011;89:227–31.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Sun Q, Ma W, Gao Y, Zheng W, Zhang B, Peng Y. Meta-analysis: therapeutic effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with compound kushen injection in hepatocellular carcinoma. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2012;9:178–88.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Luo C, Zhu Y, Jiang T, Lu X, Zhang W, Jing Q, et al. Matrine induced gastric cancer MKN45 cells apoptosis via increasing pro-apoptotic molecules of Bcl-2 family. Toxicology. 2007;229:245–52.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Dai ZJ, Gao J, Ji ZZ, Wang XJ, Ren HT, Liu XX, et al. Matrine induces apoptosis in gastric carcinoma cells via alteration of Fas/FasL and activation of caspase-3. J Ethnopharmacol. 2009;123:91–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Yu P, Liu Q, Liu K, Yagasaki K, Wu E, Zhang G. Matrine suppresses breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion via VEGF-Akt-NF-kappaB signaling. Cytotechnology. 2009;59:219–29.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Song G, Luo Q, Qin J, Wang L, Shi Y, Sun C. Effects of oxymatrine on proliferation and apoptosis in human hepatoma cells. Colloids Surf B: Biointerfaces. 2006;48:1–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Zou J, Ran ZH, Xu Q, Xiao SD. Experimental study of the killing effects of oxymatrine on human colon cancer cell line SW1116. Chin J Dig Dis. 2005;6:15–20.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Zhang S, Qi J, Sun L, Cheng B, Pan S, Zhou M, et al. Matrine induces programmed cell death and regulates expression of relevant genes based on PCR array analysis in C6 glioma cells. Mol Biol Rep. 2009;36:791–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Ling Q, Xu X, Wei X, Wang W, Zhou B, Wang B, et al. Oxymatrine induces human pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells apoptosis via regulating expression of Bcl-2 and IAP families, and releasing of cytochrome c. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2011;30:66.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Liu XS, Jiang JK, Jiao XY, Wu YE, Lin JH. Matrine-induced apoptosis in leukemia U937 cells-involvement of caspases activation and MAPK-independent pathways. Planta Med. 2006;72:501–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Liu TY, Song Y, Chen H, Pan SH, Sun XY. Matrine inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Biol Pharm Bull. 2010;33:1740–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Ma L, Wen S, Zhan Y, He Y, Liu X, Jiang J. Anticancer effects of the Chinese medicine matrine on murine hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Planta Med. 2008;74:245–51.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Wang L, You Y, Wang S, Liu X, Liu B, Wang J, et al. Synthesis, characterization and in vitro anti-tumor activities of matrine derivatives. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2012;22(12):4100–2.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Shi C, Yu L, Yang F, Yan J, Zeng H. A novel organoselenium compound induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in prostate cancer cell lines. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2003;309:578–83.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Zhao JF, Xie GR, Li XM, Chen WT, Sun ML, Fang Z, et al. Effect of Matrine on cell cycle and human telomerase reverse transcriptase of human salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma. Hua Xi Kou Qiang Yi Xue Za Zhi. 2010;28:234–40.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Zhang Z, Wang X, Wu W, Wang J, Wang Y, Wu X, et al. Effects of matrine on proliferation and apoptosis in gallbladder carcinoma cells (GBC-SD). Phytother Res. 2012;26:932–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Harbour JW, Dean DC. The Rb/E2F pathway: expanding roles and emerging paradigms. Genes Dev. 2000;14:2393–409.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Jiang H, Hou C, Zhang S, Xie H, Zhou W, Jin Q, et al. Matrine upregulates the cell cycle protein E2F-1 and triggers apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway in K562 cells. Eur J Pharmacol. 2007;559:98–108.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Degterev A, Boyce M, Yuan J. A decade of caspases. Oncogene. 2003;22:8543–67.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Spencer SL, Sorger PK. Measuring and modeling apoptosis in single cells. Cell. 2011;144:926–39.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Zhang Y, Sun S, Chen J, Ren P, Hu Y, Cao Z, et al. Oxymatrine induces mitochondria dependent apoptosis in human osteosarcoma MNNG/HOS cells through inhibition of PI3K/Akt pathway. Tumour Biol. 2013. doi:10.1007/s13277-013-1223-z.

    Google Scholar 

  53. Bröker LE, Kruyt FAE, Giaccone G. Cell death independent of caspases: a review. Clin Cancer Res. 2005;11:3155–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Zheng SY, Li DC, Zhang ZD, Zhao J, Ge JF. Adenovirus-mediated FasL gene transfer into human gastric carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol. 2005;11:3446–50.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Tan CH, Qian XQ, Jia RD, Wu M, Liang ZQ. Matrine induction of reactive oxygen species activates p38 leading to caspase-dependent cell apoptosis in non-small cell lung cancer cells. Oncol Rep. 2013;30:2529–35.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Song MQ, Zhu JS, Chen JL, Wang L, Da W, Zhu L, et al. Synergistic effect of oxymatrine and angiogenesis inhibitor NM-3 on modulating apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells. World J Gastroenterol. 2007;13:1788–93.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Jin Y, Hu J, Wang Q, Li Z, Chen Y. Effects of oxymatrine on the apoptosis of human esophageal carcinoma Eca109 cell line and its mechanism. J Huazhong Univ of Sci Technolog Med Sci. 2008;28:314–6.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Maheshwari RK, Singh AK, Gaddipati J, Srimal RC. Multiple biological activities of curcumin: a short review. Life Sci. 2006;78:2081–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Lee TH, Seng S, Sekine M, Hinton C, Fu Y, Avraham HK, et al. Vascular endothelial growth factor mediates intracrine survival in human breast carcinoma cells through internally expressed VEGFR1/FLT1. PLoS Med. 2007;4:e186.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. North S, Moenner M, Bikfalvi A. Recent developments in the regulation of the angiogenic switch by cellular stress factors in tumors. Cancer Lett. 2005;218:1–14.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Qu F, Cui YR, Xu J. Anttumor effects of matrine on murine hepatocarcinoma cell line H22 and the mechanism. Anti-tumor Pharmacy (China). 2011;1:374–8.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Hlobilkova A, Ehrmann J, Knizetova P, Krejci V, Kalita O, Kolar Z. Analysis of VEGF, Flt-1, Flk-1, nestin and MMP-9 in relation to astrocytoma pathogenesis and progression. Neoplasma. 2009;56:284–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Park JH, Jeong YJ, Park KK, Cho HJ, Chung IK, Min KS, et al. Melittin suppresses PMA-induced tumor cell invasion by inhibiting NF-kappaB and AP-1-dependent MMP-9 expression. Mol Cells. 2010;29:209–15.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  64. Liu XY, Fang H, Yang ZG, Wang XY, Ruan LM, Fang DR, et al. Matrine inhibits invasiveness and metastasis of human malignant melanoma cell line A375 in vitro. Int J Dermatol. 2008;47:448–56.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Levy-Adam F, Ilan N, Vlodavsky I. Tumorigenic and adhesive properties of heparanase. Semin Cancer Biol. 2010;20:153–60.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  66. Li H, Tan G, Jiang X, Qiao H, Pan S, Jiang H, et al. Therapeutic effects of matrine on primary and metastatic breast cancer. Am J Chin Med. 2010;38:1115–30.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  67. Kundu M, Thompson CB. Autophagy: basic principles and relevance to disease. Annu Rev Pathol. 2008;3:427–55.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  68. Yang ZJ, Chee CE, Huang S, Sinicrope FA. The role of autophagy in cancer: therapeutic implications. Mol Cancer Ther. 2011;10:1533–41.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  69. Liang XH, Jackson S, Seaman M, Brown K, Kempkes B, Hibshoosh H, et al. Induction of autophagy and inhibition of tumorigenesis by beclin 1. Nature. 1999;402:672–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  70. Wang Z, Zhang J, Wang Y, Xing R, Yi C, Zhu H, et al. Matrine, a novel autophagy inhibitor, blocks trafficking and the proteolytic activation of lysosomal proteases. Carcinogenesis. 2013;34:128–38.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Cohen SB, Graham ME, Lovrecz GO, Bache N, Robinson PJ, Reddel RR. Protein composition of catalytically active human telomerase from immortal cells. Science. 2007;315:1850–3.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  72. Basu N, Skinner HG, Litzelman K, Vanderboom R, Baichoo E, Boardman LA. Telomeres and telomere dynamics: relevance to cancers of the GI tract. Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2013;7:733–48.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  73. Liu HQ, Liu SL, Wang H, Xie XY, Chen XL, Zhang XM, et al. Genomic amplification of the human telomerase gene (hTERC) associated with human papillomavirus is related to the progression of uterine cervical dysplasia to invasive cancer. Diagn Pathol. 2012;7:1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  74. Zhang LP, Jiang JK, Tam JW, Zhang Y, Liu XS, Xu XR, et al. Effects of Matrine on proliferation and differentiation in K-562 cells. Leuk Res. 2001;25:793–800.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  75. Fukuchi Y, Yamato K, Kawamura C, Ikeda Y, Kizaki M. p27KIP1 and GATA-1 are potential downstream molecules in activin A-induced differentiation and apoptosis pathways in CML cells. Oncol Rep. 2006;16:1099–103.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  76. Inoue N, Yahagi N, Yamamoto T, Ishikawa M, Watanabe K, Matsuzaka T, et al. Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21WAF1/CIP1, is involved in adipocyte differentiation and hypertrophy, linking to obesity, and insulin resistance. J Biol Chem. 2008;283:21220–9.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  77. He S, Liu F, Xie Z, Zu X, Xu W, Jiang Y. P-Glycoprotein/MDR1 regulates Pokemon gene transcription through p53 expression in human breast cancer cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2010;11:3309–51.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  78. Colabufo NA, Berardi F, Cantore M, Contino M, Inglese C, Niso M, et al. Perspectives of P-glycoprotein modulating agents in oncology and neurodegenerative diseases: pharmaceutical, biological, and diagnostic potentials. J Med Chem. 2010;53:1883–97.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  79. Chai S, To KK, Lin G. Circumvention of multi-drug resistance of cancer cells by Chinese herbal medicines. Chin Med. 2010;5:26.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  80. Zhang J, Tang AZ. Reversal effect of matrine on drug resistance of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line. Zhong Yao Cai. 2012;35(12):1989–94.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  81. Liu F, Liu SY, He SN, Xie ZH, Zu XY, Jiang YY. Survivin transcription is associated with P-glycoprotein/MDR1 overexpression in the multidrug resistance of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Oncol Rep. 2010;23:1469–75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  82. Luo SX, Deng WY, Wang XF, Lu HF, Han LL, Chen BB, et al. Molecular mechanism of indirubin-3′-monoxime and matrine in the reversal of paclitaxel resistance in NCI-H520/TAX25 cell line. Chin Med J (Enql). 2013;126:925–9.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  83. Gao HY, Li GY, Lou MM, Li XY, Wei XY, Wang JH. Hepatoprotective effect of matrine salvianolic acid B salt on carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatic fibrosis. J Inflamm (Lond). 2012;9:16.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  84. Hu ST, Tang Y, Shen YF, Ao HH, Bai J, Wang YL, et al. Protective effect of oxymatrine on chronic rat heart failure. J Physiol Sci. 2011;61:363–72.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  85. Xu W, Lin H, Zhang Y, Chen X, Hua B, Hou W, et al. Compound Kushen Injection suppresses human breast cancer stem-like cells by down-regulating the canonical Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2011;30:103.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  86. Shao Q. The recent effect of radiotherapy combined with compound kushen injection for esophageal cancer. Radiother Oncol. 2011;99:S372–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  87. Lao Y. Clinical study on effect of matrine injection to protect the liver function for patients with primary hepatic carcinoma after trans-artery chemo-embolization (TAE). Zhong Yao Cai. 2005;28:637–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  88. Zhang XL, Xu HR, Chen WL, Chu NN, Li XN, Liu GY, et al. Matrine determination and pharmacokinetics in human plasma using LC/MS/MS. J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2009;877:3253–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  89. Yue PF, Yuan HL, Li XY, Yang M, Zhu WF. Process optimization, characterization and evaluation in vivo of oxymatrine-phospholipid complex. Int J Pharm. 2010;387:139–46.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  90. Ruan J, Liu J, Zhu D, Gong T, Yang F, Hao X, et al. Preparation and evaluation of self-nanoemulsified drug delivery systems (SNEDDSs) of matrine based on drug-phospholipid complex technique. Int J Pharm. 2010;386:282–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  91. Fan R, Liu R, Ma R, Bi K, Li Q. Determination of oxymatrine and its active metabolite matrine in human plasma after administration of oxymatrine oral solution by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Fitoterapia. 2013;89:271–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  92. Wu XL, Hang TJ, Shen JP, Zhang YD. Determination and pharmacokinetic study of oxymatrine and its metabolite matrine in human plasma by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. J Pharml Biomed Anal. 2006;41(3):918–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  93. Kennedy DA, Seely D. Clinically based evidence of drug-herb interactions: a systematic review. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2010;9(1):79–124.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  94. Hu MJ, Zeng H, Wu YL, Zhang YP, Zhang S, Qiao MM, et al. Synergistic effects of matrine and 5-fluorouracil on tumor growth of the implanted gastric cancer in nude mice. Chin J Dig Dis. 2005;6(2):68–71.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  95. Yang CL, Liu SS, Ma YG, Liu YY, Xue YX, Huang B. The influence of intraoperative pleural perfusion with matrine-cisplatin or cisplatin on stromal cell-derived factor-1 in non-small cell lung cancer patients with subclinical pleural metastasis. Med Oncol. 2012;29(2):574–81.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Plan Project of Shanghai Outstanding Academic Leaders (13XD1400300), the National Significant Science and Technology Special Projects of New Drugs Creation (2014ZX09101003), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81370552, 81372472).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery, Wujiang No.1 People’s Hospital, Suzhou, 215200, China

    Yan Liu & Quangen Gao

  2. Department of Molecular Oncology, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgical Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China

    Yang Xu, Weidan Ji, Xiaoya Li, Bin Sun & Changqing Su

  3. Graduate School, Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou, 221004, China

    Yan Liu & Quangen Gao

Authors
  1. Yan Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yang Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Weidan Ji
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiaoya Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bin Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  6. Quangen Gao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  7. Changqing Su
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Quangen Gao or Changqing Su.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liu, Y., Xu, Y., Ji, W. et al. Anti-tumor activities of matrine and oxymatrine: literature review. Tumor Biol. 35, 5111–5119 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-1680-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-1680-z

Keywords