Tumour Inhibition Test

A Study on the Tumor-lnhibition Effect of Combined Use
of “C” Formula and “Y” Formula

 

Imported from Canada, “C” Formula and “Y” Formula are oral liquid medicine extracted from pure natural plants and have been used abroad, especially in North America, for seventy years. The preliminary clinical studies in China have shown that the combined use of the two drugs has favorable therapeutical effect on tumor and various diseases resulting from immunologic deficiency. To provide laboratory evidence for further promotion of the two drugs on clinical use, we studied the tumor-inhibition effect of the combined use of the two drugs on mice contracted with cancer. This study was conducted according to the “Guidelines on Pre-clinical Study of New Chinese Medicine“, Ministry of Health of China, 1993.

Materials and Methods

Animals: NIH mice, weight 18- 22 g, healthy, male, provided by the medical experimental animal farm administered by the Health Department of Guangdong Province.

Cancer Strain: mice hepatic carcinoma, provided by The Tumor Research Institute of Zhongshan University of Medicine.

Drugs to be tested: “C” Formula and “Y” Formula , oral liquid. Prior to the test, the liquid was condensed to a suitable concentration for experimental use.

Following aseptic manipulation, the mice hepatic carcinoma strain liquid was first diluted with physiological saline at a ratio of 1:1. Each mouse was then subcutaneously vaccinated with 0.2 ml of the cancer-carrying liquid in the axillary fossa. On the following day, the mice were randomly divided into five groups according to their weight, with the weight difference within each group being no more than 1 gram. The mice were then gastro-fed with “C” Formula, and then “Y” Formula one hour later.  The dosages were as follows (all in terms of the original concentration):

High dosage group (HD): “C” Formula 540 ml/kg, “Y” Formula 80ml/kg;

Intermediate dosage group (ID): “C” Formula  270 ml/kg, “Y” Formula 40 ml/kg;

Low dosage group (LD): “C” Formula 135 ml/kg, “Y” Formula 20 ml/kg.

In addition, there were two contrast groups, one was positive with 5-Fu 10 mg/kg (to be referred as 5-Fu), the other was negative with physiological saline (equal dosage, 20 ml/kg, to be referred as PS). The drugs were given consecutively for 10 days. The next day following the withdrawal of the drugs, the mice were killed and the tumor masses were taken out and weighed. Tumor inhibition rates (to be referred as TIR) were calculated and the data were analyzed statistically.

Results

According to the “Guidelines or Pre-clinical Study of New Chinese Medicine“, the test was conducted three times, and the results are listed in the following table.

Table: The Tumor-Inhibition Effect of Combined Use of “C” Formula and “Y” Formula

Compared to the group of Physiological Saline (PS): * P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001

 

From the above table, one can see that for the group of intermediate dosage, the tumor-inhibition rate was greater than 30% for all the three tests. In addition, for every test, the results were significant or notably significant compared to those of the physiological saline group. For the high dosage group, only the first test had a tumor-inhibition rate lower than 30%, but the results were significant for all the three tests. For the low dosage group, the tumor-inhibition rate of the first test was lower than 30% and was not statistically significant. However, for the rest two tests, the tumor-inhibition rate was greater than 30%, and also significant statistically.

 

 

Discussions

1. According to “Guidelines on Pre-clinical Study of New Chinese Medicine“, if a drug has a statistically significant tumor-inhibition rate of 30% on animal transplantational tumor, the drug is classified as having tumor-inhibition effect. The current laboratory study has shown that the combined use of “C” Formula and “Y” Formula had notable tumor-inhibition effect, with the intermediate dosage group being the most significant. The tumor-inhibition rate of high dosage group was slightly lower than that of the intermediate group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). This indicates that increasing dosage does not increase the tumor inhibition effect.2. During the laboratory test, the cancer-carrying mice undergoing treatment of the two drugs had better general appearing, activity level, and appetite compared to the negative contrast group, indicating that the combined use of the two drugs can also improve the general status of the cancer-carrying animals, i.e., improve the quality of their lives.

 

 

Research Section of Pharmacology, Institute of Materia Medica of Guangdong Province