Abstract
Angelicae gigantis Radix aqua-acupuncture solution (AGRAS) and Angelicae gigantis Radix water-extracted solution (AGRWS) were prepared and tested for their organ toxicities and chemopreventive potentials. The organ-toxicity of AGRAS to male ICR mice was studied by the measurements of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic pyruvate transaminase (GPT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP-s) activities after injection of AGRAS for 7 days. The activities of GOT GPT and LDH were decreased, but the activity of ALP-s was not changed with AGRAS. When AGRAS was administered once daily for 10 days before the tumor implantation, AGRAS exerted antitumor activity by inhibiting the growth of Ehrich ascites tumor cells (EATC) in viva. The inductions of quinone reductase (QR), glutathione (GSH) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) and inhibition of polyamine metabolism were tested for the chemopreventive potentials of AGRAS and AGRWS. AGRAS was potent inducer of QR activity in murine hepatoma Hepalclc7 cells. In cultured rat Ac2F cells, AGRAS was also significantly induced QR activity GSH levels were increased about 1.3 fold with AGRAS. In addition the activity of GST was increased about 2.5 fold with AGRAS at the concentration of $0.1{\;}{\times}{\;}$. The effects of AGRAS and AGRWS were tested on the growth of Acanthamoeba castellanii. Proliferation of Acanthamoeba castellanii in a broth medium was inhibited by AGRAS and AGRWS at the concentration of $1{\;}{\times}{\;}and{\;}5{\;}{\times}{\;}$, respectively: These results suggest that AGRAS has chemopreventive potential by inducing QR activity increasing GSH and GST levels and inhibition of polyamine metabolism.
