Abstract
Cortex pseudolaricis, the root bark of Pseudolarix kaempferi Gord, has been used to treat tinea and other skin diseases for the antimicrobial activities in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Pseudolaric acid B (PAB) has been identified as the major component responsible for the action of C. pseudolaricis. Recently, PAB has been demonstrated to be used as novel treatments for cancer, immune disorders, inflammatory diseases, and immunosuppression. However, the mechanisms through which PAB exerts its properties are not understood well, and little attention in the literature has been given to review its pharmacological activities before. In this review, we performed a systematic summary of the literature with respect to the anticancer, immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties of PAB and its derivatives. Currently available data suggest that PAB is a promising immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory agent candidate and should be explored further in cancer treatment and prevention.
Highlights
Pseudolaric acid B (PAB), a diterpene isolated from Cortex pseudolaricis, has been recorded as a common Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat eczema, fungal skin infections, and other skin diseases for centuries
In the present researches on TCM, it’s been found that PAB could intervene numerous molecular targets and pathways to achieve performance function (Figure 2)
PAB have the certain effects on regulating the Bcl-2/Bax ratio via intracellular ROS accumulation and could trigger caspasedependent apoptosis in death receptor pathway and the mitochondrial pathway, the precise mechanism of which is a subject remaining to be researched
Summary
Pseudolaric acid B (PAB), a diterpene isolated from Cortex pseudolaricis, has been recorded as a common Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat eczema, fungal skin infections, and other skin diseases for centuries. Previous studies indicated that PAB showed various bioactivities with less cytotoxicity, including antimicrobial activity, antifertility activity, antiangiogenic activity, anticancer activity, and so on (Wong et al, 2005; Liu et al, 2006; Ko et al, 2007; Yang et al, 2008; Yu et al, 2008; Li et al, 2009; Meng and Jiang, 2009). As the further studies carrying out, PAB has been proved to markedly inhibit inflammatory reaction and regulate the immune response. The aforementioned properties suggest PAB is potentially of therapeutic value in the treatment of cancer, immune disorders, and other relevant diseases. The mechanism responsible for PAB exerting the biological function is poorly understood. The literatures about characteristic and correlative studies on PAB and its derivatives are reviewed which would provide the latest information and trend to further investigation PAB as a novel candidate against cancer and immune-related diseases
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