Lin CC, Chung YC, Hsu CP. Potential roles of longan flower and seed extracts for anti-cancer. World J Exp Med 2012; 2(4): 78-85 [PMID: 24520538 DOI: 10.5493/wjem.v2.i4.78]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Chih-Ping Hsu, PhD, Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Yuanpei University, No. 306 Yuanpei Street, Hsinchu City 30015, Taiwan, China. hsucp@mail.ypu.edu.tw
Article-Type of This Article
Review
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World J Exp Med. Aug 20, 2012; 2(4): 78-85 Published online Aug 20, 2012. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v2.i4.78
Potential roles of longan flower and seed extracts for anti-cancer
Chih-Cheng Lin, Yuan-Chiang Chung, Chih-Ping Hsu
Chih-Cheng Lin, Department of Biotechnology, Yuanpei University, Hsinchu City 30015, Taiwan, China
Yuan-Chiang Chung, Department of Surgery, Cheng-Ching General Hospital, Taichung City 40764, Taiwan, China
Chih-Ping Hsu, Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Yuanpei University, Hsinchu City 30015, Taiwan, China
Author contributions: Lin CC and Chung YC contributed equally to this article; Lin CC and Hsu CP substantially contributed to conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data; Lin CC and Chung YC drafted the article and revised it critically for important intellectual content; Chung YC and Hsu CP contributed to final approval of the version to be published.
Supported by A research grand from Cheng-Ching General Hospital, CH10000142
Correspondence to: Chih-Ping Hsu, PhD, Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Yuanpei University, No. 306 Yuanpei Street, Hsinchu City 30015, Taiwan, China. hsucp@mail.ypu.edu.tw
Telephone: +886-3-6108166 Fax: +886-3-6102312
Received: February 21, 2012 Revised: July 21, 2012 Accepted: July 27, 2012 Published online: August 20, 2012
Abstract
Polyphenol-rich plants are known to possess benefits to human health. Recent studies have revealed that many Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) are rich sources of polyphenols and exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and these TCMs have been shown experimentally to overcome some chronic diseases, including cancer. Longan flowers and seeds, two TCMs traditionally used for relieving pain and urinary diseases, have been revealed in our recent reports and other studies to possess rich amounts of polyphenolic species and exhibit strong anti-oxidant activity, and these could be applied for the treatment of diabetes and cancer. Herein, we review the recent findings regarding the benefits of these two TCMs in the treatment of human cancer and the possible cellular and molecular mechanisms of both substances.
