Therapeutic Effects of Lignans and Blend Isolated from Schisandra chinesis on Hepatic Carcinoma

Schisandra chinesis (S. chinesis) is widely used as one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Oriental medicine; the species is a member of the Schisandra genus of shrub, which grows commonly in the native forests of Northern China, Korea, Japan and Russia. The Schisandra are deciduous climbers that thrive in any type of soil, so long as it is moist, shaded, and well-drained (Panossian and Wikman, 2008). The female S. chinesis plant can produce the fruit via fertilization with pollen from a male plant (Shilova, 1963). It is harvested in most countries, including Korea, by the cutting of half-matured berries between August and September. The berries of S. chinesis are called omija (translated as “five-flavor fruit”) in Korea, because this fruit has all five of the basic flavors-salty, sweet, sour, pungent, and bitter (Gutnikova, 1951; Panossian and Wikman, 2008). Generally, its dried fruits have been used for a variety of purposes, including as a therapeutic drug, teas and wines. In many countries, it has been used as a therapeutic drug, and is purported to have liver-protective and immune-modulatory abilities. A variety of key constituents including schizandrin, deoxyschizandrin, gomisin, and pregomisin have been isolated from the seeds of the fruit. Additionally, S. chinesis berries have been used in the manufacture of several foods. A wine was using the berries of S. chinesis has been produced in China, whereas in Korea, the berries are made into a tea. Meanwhile, in Japan, these berries are referred to as “gomishin”, and have been used for medicinal purposes, to treat colds and sea-sickness. In Russia, dozens of tons of berries are used annually in the commercial production of juices, wine, extracts and sweets (Gutnikova, 1951; Agejenko and Komisssarenko, 1960). A variety of previous pharmacological studies have suggested that S. chinesis may exert beneficial biological effects on liver tissue, the central nervous system, the respiratory system, the cardiovascular system and the endocrine system (Table 1) (Panossian and Wikman, 2008). The major and characteristic components of Schisandraceae berries have been previously isolated, and are referred to as lignans. The lignans are categorized into the five following classes: dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans (type A), spirobenzofuranoid dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans (type B), 4-aryltetralin lignans (type C), 2,3-dimethyl-1,4diarylbutane lignans (type D), and 2,5-diaryltetrahydrofuran lignans (type E)(Table 2)(Lu and Chen, 2009). Thus far, a total of 43 lignans have been isolated from S. chinesis in various