Antitumor Activities of Several Phytopolysaccharides

Polysaccharides were isolated with alkaline extraction method from twelve pharmaceutical plants, which have been used against the various tumors in the oriental herb medicine, and examined for their antitumor activities. When the polysaccharides were administered i. p. at the dose of 10mg/kg/day for ten consecutive days to the male ICR mice, which had been implanted with $1{\times}10^{6}$ cells of sarcoma 180 twentyfour hours before the first injection of polysaccharides, those from Forsythia Corea, Curcuma, Zedoaria, Albizzia Julibrissin, Prunuts Persica, Foeniculum Vlugare and Daphne Pseudogenkwa showed inhibition ratios of 88.0%, 61.1%m 73.0%, 72.8% 55.1% and 71.7%. The significant prolongation of life span was observed only in the case of Forsythia Corea (18.1%). Other six polysaccharide fractions from Olibanum, Lonicera Japonica, Rheum Coreanum, Scirpus Maritimus, Gleditchia Officinalis and Brassica Juncea showed negligible inhibition ratios.