Chemotherapy is the main approach for treating advanced and recurrent carcinoma, but the clinical performance of chemotherapy is limited by relatively low response rates, drug resistance, and adverse effects that severely affect the quality of life of patients. An association between epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and chemotherapy resistance has been investigated in recent studies. Our recent studies have found that the aqueous extract of Solanum nigrum (AESN) is a crucial ingredient in some traditional Chinese medicine formulas for treating various types of cancer patients and exhibits antitumor effects. We evaluated the suppression of EMT in MCF-7 breast cancer cells treated with AESN. The mitochondrial morphology was investigated using Mitotracker Deep-Red FM stain. Our results indicated that AESN markedly inhibited cell viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells through apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest mediated by activation of caspase-3 and production of reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, mitochondrial fission was observed in MCF-7 breast cancer cells treated with AESN. In addition to elevation of E-cadherin, downregulations of ZEB1, N-cadherin, and vimentin were found in AESN-treated MCF-7 breast cancer cells. These results suggested that AESN could inhibit EMT of MCF-7 breast cancer cells mediated by attenuation of mitochondrial function. AESN could be potentially beneficial in treating breast cancer cells, and may be of interest for future studies in developing integrative cancer therapy against proliferation, metastasis, and migration of breast cancer cells.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Gut microbiota are highly associated with CRC, and Fusobacterium nucleatum was found to be enriched in CRC lesions and correlated with CRC carcinogenesis and metastases. Paris polyphylla is a well-known herbal medicine that showed anticancer activity. The present study demonstrates that P. polyphylla inhibited the growth of CRC cells. In addition, treating with active compounds pennogenin 3-O-beta-chacotrioside and polyphyllin VI isolated from P. polyphylla inhibited the growth of F. nucleatum. We also found that extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from F. nucleatum could promote mitochondrial fusion and cell invasion in CRC cells, whereas active components from P. polyphylla could dampen such an impact. The data suggest that P. polyphylla and its active ingredients could be further explored as potential candidates for developing complementary chemotherapy for the treatment of CRC.

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theories assert that body constitution and meridian energy lay the foundation for disease prevention. TCM-based health concepts have not yet been incorporated into mobile health (mHealth) apps for individuals with prediabetes. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a TCM mHealth app for individuals with prediabetes. Methods: This randomized controlled trial recruited 121 individuals with prediabetes at a teaching hospital in New Taipei City between February 2020 and May 2021. The participants were randomly assigned to the TCM mHealth app group (n=42), ordinary mHealth app group (n=41), or control group (n=38). All participants received the usual care that included 15-20 minutes of health education about the disease, along with healthy diet and exercise encouragement. The ordinary mHealth app included physical activity (PA), diet, and disease education, along with individual records. The TCM mHealth app additionally included qi and body constitution information, along with constitution-based PA and diet advice. The control group received the usual care alone and did not have access to any app. Data were collected at baseline, at the end of the 12-week intervention, and 1 month after the intervention. Body constitution, including yang-deficiency, yin-deficiency, and phlegm-stasis, was measured according to the Body Constitution Questionnaire, with higher scores indicating a greater deficiency. Body energy was examined using the Meridian Energy Analysis Device. The Short-Form 36 questionnaire was used to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL), which yielded physical component scores and mental component scores, with higher scores indicating better physical and mental aspects of HRQOL, respectively. Results: Compared to the control group, the TCM mHealth app group showed greater improvement in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), yang-deficiency and phlegm-stasis body constitution, and BMI; however, no significant differences were found in these outcomes between the TCM mHealth app and ordinary mHealth app groups. The TCM mHealth app group showed better improvement in body energy and mental component scores than the ordinary mHealth app group. There were no significant differences in fasting plasma glucose, yin-deficiency body constitution, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension dietary behavior, and total PA among the three groups after the intervention. Conclusions: Use of either the ordinary or TCM mHealth app improved HRQOL among individuals with prediabetes. Compared to the outcomes of controls not using any app, use of the TCM mHealth app was effective at improving HbA1c, BMI, yang-deficiency and phlegm-stasis body constitution, and HRQOL. Moreover, using the TCM mHealth app seemed to improve the body energy and HRQOL more than when using the ordinary mHealth app. Further studies with a larger sample size and longer follow-up period may be necessary to determine whether the differences favoring the TCM app are clinically meaningful. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04096989; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04096989

Cordycepin is one of the most crucial bioactive compounds produced by Cordyceps militaris and has exhibited antitumor activity in various cancers. However, industrial production of large amounts of cordycepin is difficult. The porcine liver is abundant in proteins, vitamins, and adenosine, and these ingredients may increase cordycepin production and bioconversion during C. militaris fermentation. We observed that porcine liver extracts increased cordycepin production. In addition, air supply (2 h/d) significantly increased the cordycepin level in surface liquid-cultured C. militaris after 14 days. Moreover, blue light light-emitting diode irradiation (16 h/d) increased cordycepin production. These findings indicated that these conditions are suitable for increasing cordycepin production. We used these conditions to obtain water extract from the mycelia of surface liquid-cultured C. militaris (WECM) and evaluated the anti-oral cancer activity of this extract in vitro and in vivo. The results revealed that WECM inhibited the cell viability of SCC-4 oral cancer cells and arrested the cell cycle in the G2/M phase. Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction (mitochondrial fission) were observed in SCC-4 cells treated with WECM for 12 hours. Furthermore, WECM reduced tumor formation in 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced hamster buccal pouch carcinogenesis through the downregulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen, vascular endothelial growth factor, and c-fos expression. The results indicated that porcine liver extracts irradiated with blue light light-emitting diode and supplied with air can be used as a suitable medium for the growth of mycelia and production of cordycepin, which can be used in the treatment of oral cancer.