Study: Anti-cancer potential of modified si jun zi, a Chinese medicine formula

In this study, a team of researchers from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine in China studied the effects of a modified decoction of si jun zi on the metastasis of colorectal cancer cells. The results of their study were published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

• Si jun zi is a formula used in traditional Chinese medicine. The modified si jun zi the researchers used is composed of different TCM herbs.
• The researchers implanted human colorectal cancer cells into the spleens of 48 BALB/c mice.
• They then split up the mice into four groups:
  • The first group or control group did not receive any treatment
  • The second group received 5-fluorouracil, a mainstream anti-cancer drug
  • The third group received the modified si jun zi decoction
  • The fourth group received a combination of 5-fluorouracil and modified si jun zi
• After three weeks, the researchers measured colorectal cancer metastasis to the liver via fluorescence imaging and analysis of plasma cytokines.
• They found that the group that received the modified si jun zi decoction alone had a higher survival rate (91.7 percent) than the group treated with only 5-fluorouracil (66.7 percent). Meanwhile, the group that received the combined treatment all survived.
• The modified si jun zi decoction increased the amount of macrophages in the mice. Macrophages are white blood cells that can eat up cancer cells.
• However, the decoction did not increase the amount of neutrophils — white blood cells involved in the body’s primary immune response.

The results of the study suggest that the modified si jun zi decoction can inhibit the metastasis of colorectal cancer cells by activating the innate immune system. It is therefore a potential complementary therapy against colorectal cancer.

Read the full article at this link.

Journal Reference:

Zhou JY, Chen M, Wu CE, Zhuang YW, Chen YG, Liu SL. THE MODIFIED SI-JUN-ZI DECOCTION ATTENUATES COLON CANCER LIVER METASTASIS BY INCREASING MACROPHAGE CELLS. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 23 April 2019;19(1). DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2498-4