COMPOSITIONS FOR PREVENTING OR TREATING COLON CANCER COMPRISING EXTRACTS FROM THORNS OF GLEDITSIA SINENSIS

摘要

The present invention relates to a composition for preventing and treating colon cancer containing extract from the thorn of Gleditsia sinensis as an active ingredient. The disclosed composition is highly cytotoxic to colon cancer cells and arrests the cell cycle at G2/M phase, suppressing expression and activation of Cdc25c, Cdc2, and cyclin B which are cell cycle regulators. The composition interferes with the activation of transcription factors, NF-?b and AP-1, inhibits the activation of MMP-9 in colon cancer cells and effectively suppresses metastasis of cancer cells. The composition also promotes the activation of MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), which includes Erk, p38 MAPKinase and JNK, and induces apoptosis of cancer cells. The composition has excellent anticancer activity even on the individual animal level. In addition, the disclosed composition is extremely safe since it contains extract from the thorn of Gleditsia sinensis as the active ingredient, which has been used in oriental medicine for a long time.