J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 61(2): 234-247, 1960

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STUDIES ON THE ANTITUMOR EFFECTS OF THE SEED OF COIX LACRYMA, JOBI, L.

One patient with inoperable carcinoma of the cardiac portion of the stomach showed a marked improvement in his general condition by the use of a decoction made from several medicinal plants. We are attracted by this fact and performed some experiments both with Ehrlich's mouse ascites carcinoma and with patients in the late stage of gastrointestinal carcinoma.
In animal experiments the criteria of the author's choice for the interpretation of the antitumor effectiveness were the prolongation of the survival period and the inhibition of the ascitic body weight gain of mice bearing cancer.
The study was first done with oral administration of the decoction, with intraperitoneal administration of alcohol extract of the mixture of the medicinal plants and then of alcohol extract of the seed of coix lacryma. The antitumor potency had had been enhanced as the above mentioned order.
The cytomorphological effects of the alcohol extract of the seed on Ehrlich's carcinoma cells were seemingly a complicated figure of two effects, i. e., the degenerative effects on cyteplasm after Sarcomycin treatment and the inhibitory effects on mitosis after Nitromin treatment.
The aldohol extract was then distilled with steam, and the ether soluble ingredient of the undistilled portion was devided into the 5% KOH unsoluble portion (fractiod I.) and the soluble portion, and the latter (alkali solution) was extracted with ether after it was acidified with 5% H₂SO₄, and, furthermore , divided into the petroleum ether soluble portion (fraction II.) and the unsoluble portion (fraction III.).
The fraction I. exerts a cytolytic effect upon the cancer cells and the fraction III. exerts a mitotic effect resulting in the accumulation of the arrested metaphase.
Clinical date with so purified preparation is not yet available.
We administered the original decoction to the patients with the late stage of gastrointestinal carcinoma and found atantistically a life prolongation tendency.
After the intraperitoneal administration of the alcohol extracts of the seed to the patient with carcinomatous peritonitis, the cancer cells degenerated markedly. In this case the cytomorphological effects was similar to that of the animal experiments even with extremely small dose. This suggests a probability of specifiic action of the material to the human gastrointestinal cancer.
Now, further fractionation of the material is in progress.
(Author's abstract)

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