Description
β-Elemene is a sesquiterpene found in various plant sources. This compound exhibits anti-angiogenic and anticancer chemotherapeutic properties by suppressing Notch-1 and decreasing the expression and phosphorylation of Smad3 and altering TGF-β 1 signaling. β-Elemene also displays anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, suppressing differentiation of Th17 cells and decreasing levels of IL-17, IL-6, and IL-23 in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. This compound also induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in a wide variety of cancer cell lines.
References
Yan B, Zhou Y, Feng S, et al. β -Elemene-Attenuated Tumor Angiogenesis by Targeting Notch-1 in Gastric Cancer Stem-Like Cells. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:268468. PMID: 23710217.
Zhang X, Li Y, Zhang Y, et al. Beta-elemene blocks epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 through Smad3-mediated down-regulation of nuclear transcription factors. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58719. PMID: 23516540.
Dai ZJ, Tang W, Lu WF, et al. Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of β-elemene on human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Cancer Cell Int. 2013 Mar 14;13(1):27. PMID: 23496852.
Zhang R, Tian A, Zhang H, et al. Amelioration of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis by β-elemene treatment is associated with Th17 and Treg cell balance. J Mol Neurosci. 2011 May;44(1):31-40. PMID: 21246417.
Li QQ, Wang G, Huang F, et al. Antineoplastic effect of beta-elemene on prostate cancer cells and other types of solid tumour cells. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2010 Aug;62(8):1018-27. PMID: 20663036.