BACKGROUND: The herbal mixture PC-SPES, used to manage advanced @entity263 , has proven thrombogenic and highly estrogenic in clinical trials. However, attempts to identify the active compounds in PC-SPES have yielded incongruous results. Moreover, @entity1229 was identified in the serum of a @entity1 taking PC-SPES who experienced a @entity3459 . To determine the active components in PC-SPES potentially responsible for these effects, we analyzed PC-SPES lots manufactured from l996 through mid-2001. METHODS: Antineoplastic activity of PC-SPES and its individual component extracts was determined by colony-forming assays with several @entity263 cell lines, and estrogenicity was determined by analyzing expression of an @entity172 -responsive reporter gene in @entity0 cells. High-pressure liquid chromatography was used to isolate, identify, and quantify components of PC-SPES. Components were also identified by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and mass spectra analysis. RESULTS: PC-SPES lots manufactured from 1996 through mid-1999 contained the synthetic compounds @entity3352 (range = 1.07-13.19 mg/g) and @entity4742 (range = 107.28-159.27 micro g/g) and were two to six times more antineoplastic and up to 50 times more estrogenic than lots manufactured after the spring of 1999. In lots manufactured after mid-1999, gradual declines in the concentrations of @entity3352 (from 1.56 to 0.70 mg/g), @entity4742 (from 46.36 to 0.00 micro g/g), and total @entity9541 (from 0.586 to 0.085 mg/g) were observed. @entity1229 was identified for the first time in lots manufactured after July 1998 (range = 341-560 micro g/g). In the August 2001 lot, increases were found in concentrations of the natural products @entity41886 (from 27.6 to 289.2 micro g/g) and @entity7651 (from 12.5 to 38.8 mg/g). CONCLUSIONS: The phytochemical composition of PC-SPES varied by lot, and chemical analyses detected various amounts of the synthetic drugs @entity4742 , @entity3352 , and @entity1229 and several natural products. To qualify for clinical pharmacologic exploration, nutritional supplements including herbal mixtures should meet standards of quality control under the Good Manufacturing Practice system, and the manufacturers of such supplements should provide reliable analytical quality assurance.

Herbal composition PC-SPES for management of XXXX : identification of active principles.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patient'] @entity172 :: ('MESH:D004967', 'Chemical') :: ['estrogen'] @entity263 :: ('MESH:D011471', 'Disease') :: ['prostate cancer'] @entity0 :: ('MESH:D001943', 'Disease') :: ['breast cancer'] @entity7651 :: ('MESH:C038044', 'Chemical') :: ['baicalin'] @entity3459 :: ('MESH:D025861', 'Disease') :: ['bleeding disorder'] @entity41886 :: ('MESH:C070840', 'Chemical') :: ['licochalcone A'] @entity9541 :: ('MESH:D010840', 'Chemical') :: ['phytosterols'] @entity3352 :: ('MESH:D007213', 'Chemical') :: ['indomethacin'] @entity4742 :: ('MESH:D004054', 'Chemical') :: ['diethylstilbestrol'] @entity1229 :: ('MESH:D014859', 'Chemical') :: ['Warfarin', 'warfarin']
@entity263 :: (MESH:D011471,Disease) :: ['prostate cancer']
