General
Scientific Names:
Toona sinensis (A. Juss.) Roem
Common Names: Xiang Chun,
Zhu Chun, Hong Chun, Chun Yang Shu, Chun Chai Shu, Chun Ya Shu, Bai Chun, Xiang Shu.
BOTANICAL:
    
来 源：
为楝科香椿属植物。
植物特征：
落叶乔木，高达15米。树皮暗褐色，片状剥落；幼枝有柔毛。双数羽状复叶，长25—50厘米，有特殊香气；小叶10—22片，对生，长圆形或长圆状披针形，长8—15厘米，无毛或下面脉腋有长束毛。圆锥花序顶生；花芳香；花萼短小；花瓣白色，卵状长圆形；退化雄蕊5，与发育雄蕊互生。蒴果卵圆形，长1．5—2．5厘米；种子椭圆形，一端有膜质长翅。花期5－6月，果期8月。
资源分布:主要分布在山东、安徽、浙江、河南、河北、广西北部、湖南南部及四川省，其中以安徽的太和香椿、山东的西牟香椿和河南的焦作红香椿最为著名。
生药材鉴定：
椿根白皮(《经验方》) 干燥根皮为块状或长卷形，厚薄不一，外表面为红棕色，内表面有毛须。质轻松，断面纤维性。气微，味淡。椿木皮(《唐本草》) 又名：春尖皮。干燥树皮呈长片状。外表面红棕色裂片状，有顺纹及裂隙，内表面黄棕色，有细皱纹。质坚硬，断面显著纤维性。稍有香气，味谈。
Pharmacology
化学成分:
香椿叶中含胡萝卜素及维生素 B 、 C ，椿白皮中含川楝素 (Toosendanin ， C 30 Ｈ 39 Ｏ 11 ，熔点 178~180 ℃、 238~240 ℃ ) 、甾醇、鞣质，香椿心材中含有白矢车菊甙元 ，洋椿［ Cedrela toona ］树皮中含有咩椿苦素 (cedrelone) 。
Efficacy
Toona sinensis (TS), a kind of arbor, widely distributes nowadays in Asia. The leaves of TS have been used as an effective nutritious food in Chinese society for a long time. It was reported that Toona sinensis can induce apoptosis of cancer cells, reduce plasma glucose in diabetic rats, and improve lipolysis of differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocyte and its uptake of glucose. It has also been shown that TS may increase dynamic activity of human sperm. Thus, we are interested to investigate whether Toona sinensis has any effect on mouse Leydig cell testosterone production, which correlates to sperm activity. Primary mouse Leydig cells were purified to conduct the in vitro experiments. Different concentrations of crude Toona sinensis were added to primary mouse Leydig cells and the testosterone production was determined. The results showed that crude TS significantly inhibited both basal and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-stimulated testosterone productions in dose dependent manner, respectively (P<0.05). Crude TS also reduced the forskolin- and dibutyryl-cAMP (dbcAMP)-stimulated testosterone production (P<0.05), which indicated that crude TS might affect protein kinase A (PKA) signal transduction pathway at the site after the formation of cyclic AMP. Moreover, TS inhibited Leydig cell steroidogenesis by suppressing the activity of steroidogenic enzymes including P450 side chain cleavage enzyme, 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, 17 alpha-hydroxylase, 20 alpha-hydroxylase and 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (P<0.05). In summary, these results suggested that TS inhibited steroidogenesis by suppressing the cAMP-PKA signaling pathway and the activities of steroidogenic enzymes in normal mouse Leydig cells. (source)
Recent study indicated that the components of Toona sinensis Roemor have potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. These components have also been reported to inhibit the growth of boils in vivo. In this study, we investigated the effect of crude extract from the leaves of Toona sinensis Roemor on the proliferation of A549 lung cancer cells. We found that the extract effectively blocked cell cycle progression by inhibiting the expression of cyclin D1 and E in A549 cells. Additionally, incubation of the extract led to activation of caspase-3-like proteases and apoptotic cell death. Conversely, the extract did not show any significant cytotoxic effect on primarily cultured human foreskin fibroblasts or MRC-5 human lung fibroblasts. Therefore, antiproliferative action of the extract is specific for tumor cells. Our results suggest that the components of Toona sinensis Roemor have potent anticancer effects in vitro and identification of the useful components in the extract may lead to the development of a novel class of anticancer drugs. (source)
IN VITRO:
- Poon SL, et al.,
Regulatory mechanism of Toona sinensis on mouse leydig cell steroidogenesis.
Life Sci. 2005 Feb 11; 76(13):1473-87. Epub 2004 Dec 19.
- Chang HC, et al.,
Extract from the leaves of Toona sinensis roemor exerts potent antiproliferative effect on human lung cancer cells.
Am J Chin Med. 2002; 30(2-3):307-14.
IN VIVO:
- Poon SL, et al., Regulatory mechanism of Toona sinensis on mouse leydig cell steroidogenesis. Life Sci. 2005 Feb 11; 76(13):1473-87. Epub 2004 Dec 19.
Safety 用药忌宜: 《本草经疏》：“脾胃虚寒者不可用，崩带属肾家真阴虚者亦忌之，以其徒燥故也。凡带下积气未尽者亦不宜遽用。” |
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