Artemisia princeps Pampanini is widely used in Eastern traditional medicine for the treatment of circulatory
disorders, such as, dysmenorrhea, hematuria, hemorrhoids, and inflammation. In recent
years, it has been proposed that A. princeps may possess anti-tumorigenic potential in certain cancer cell type. In this study,
the anti-carcinogenic effects of ethanol extract of A. princeps Pampanini (EAPP) were investigated in HT-29 and HCT-116 human colon cancer cells
and AOM/DSS-induced colitis-associated cancer (CAC) mouse models. We found that EAPP
treatment of cells resulted in induction of apoptosis involving the cleavages of caspase
family proteins and PARP, while decreased expression of anti-apoptotic proteins. In
addition, we observed that EAPP treatment inhibited NF-κB transcriptional activity
and decreased translocation of p65 subunit into nuclear fractions in colon cancer
cells. In an AOM/DSS-induced CAC models, administration with EAPP significantly attenuated
shortening of the colon and decreased the number of colon tumors. Furthermore, EAPP
treatment decreased expression of anti-apoptotic proteins and translocation of p65
subunit in nuclear fractions, whereas EAPP markedly induced the cleavage of PARP in
colon tissue of an AOM/DSS-induced CAC models. Taken together, our data indicated
that EAPP could be a useful agent for prevention and treatment of colon cancer.
