Anti-glioblastoma-the Breakthrough Point in Pursuing New Anticancer Drugs from Saponins?
抗神经胶质瘤—皂苷类抗癌新药开发的突破口

This paper reviews our recent progress in studying the saponins possessing antitumor effects, especially anti-glioblastoma effects, extracted from ten species of marine organisms and Traditional Chinese Medicines. Systematic extraction, isolation and structural elucidation have been performed for the saponin constituents from three species of starfishes, five species of sea cucumbers and two species of medicinal plants, resulting in the identification of 78 saponins, among which 53 are new compounds. Most of the new compounds possess relatively rare structural features. Most of the saponins show in vitro cytotoxicity against tumor cells, especially glioblastoma cells. Several saponins exhibit significant anti-glioblastoma effects in vivo by in situ administration (interstitial chemotherapy), and their haemolytic side effects can be avoided in the tests. Multiple mechanisms of action, such as interfering with cell cycle progression, inducing apoptosis, promoting stabilization of microtubule, as well as several signal transduction pathways, are involved in their anticancer effects. Our study may provide leads for developing new anti-glioblastoma drugs, and establish a homebase for the further development of these marine and terrestrial organisms. The success of the approach to administrate saponins in situ has conquered the bottleneck in the development of saponins as new drugs-haemolytic effects. These results indicate that anti-glioblastoma may become the breakthrough point for pursuing new anticancer drugs from saponins.