Eriobotrya japonica leaf is a traditional herbal medicine that contains numerous triterpenes, which have various pharmacological properties. In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative activity of four triterpenes derived from E. japonica, including corosolic acid (CA), ursolic acid (UA), maslinic acid (MA) and oleanolic acid (OA), in human leukemia cell lines. CA showed the strongest anti-proliferative activity in all of the leukemia cell lines tested, but not in normal human skin fibroblast cell lines. To determine the mechanism underlying the anti-proliferative effect of CA, we examined the effect of CA on molecular events known as apoptosis induction. CA induced chromatin condensation, DNA fragmentation, sub-G₁ phase DNA, activation of caspase-3, -8 and -9 and the cleavage of PARP in HL-60. CA also activated Bid and Bax, leading to the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (∆ψ_m) and cytochrome c release into the cytosol, whereas Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL were unaffected by CA. These results suggest that CA has an anti-proliferative effect on leukemia cells via the induction of apoptosis mediated by mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation. CA may be a potential chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of human leukemia.

Ginseng, an ancient and famous medicinal herb in the Orient, has been used as a valuable tonic and for the treatment of various diseases including hepatic disorders. Ginseng saponins, commonly known as ginsenosides, are principal constituents and have believed to be responsible for multiple ginseng health benefits. There are more 40 ginsenosides isolated from ginseng. To date, treatment options for common liver diseases such as cirrhosis, fatty liver, and chronic hepatitis remain problematic. In this regard, ginseng extracts and individual ginsenosides have shown a wide array of beneficial role in the regulation of regular liver functions and the treatment of liver disorders of acute/chronic hepatotoxicity, hepatitis, hepatic fibrosis/cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and so on in various pathways and mechanisms. In this paper, we first outline the pharmacological effects of ginseng and ginsenosides on the liver functions.