Zi Shan Chun

When Zi Shan Chun is used in conjunction with chemotherapy, a case of allergic shock(5) and another case of paralytic ileus(6) have been documented.

Inhibiting cancer cell growth and inducing cell death: Experiments on Zi Shan Chun's effect on the growth of laryngocarcinoma show that at the concentration level of 1x10^e-8, Zi Shan Chun kills all laryngocarcinoma cells. At the low concentration level of 2.5x10^e-9, Zi Shan Chun starts to affect the growth of laryngocarcinoma cells and at 5x10^e-9, Zi Shan Chun is observed to exert a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of laryngocarcinoma cells. Furthermore, cell cycle analysis shows that at medium or low concentrations, Zi Shan Chun blocks Hep-2 cell growth at the G₀/G₁ stage, inducing cell death.(8)

Enhancing sensitivity to radiation: Experiments show that Zi Shan Chun's effect on blocking cell growth at the G₂-M stage is time and concentration-dependent. When subject to radiation only, BT325 tumor cells can become radiation-resistant. Radiation and Zi Shan Chun work synergistically with each other, however. Used together, their inhibitory and cytotoxic effects on the BT325 strain of human glia metrocyte tumor cells are significantly more pronounced than those of their singular use, which suggests that Zi Shan Chun significantly heightens BT325's sensitivity to radiation.(9)

Effects on early fetus growth: Experiments were set up to study the effect of Zi Shan Chun on early mouse fetus growth. At three different dosage levels (4, 5, and 6mg/kg), Zi Shan Chun was administered to pregnant mice daily for five consecutive days, starting from the 6th day of pregnancy. The results showed that at all three dosage levels, Zi Shan Chun significantly affects the fetus's growth and morphological development. This effect becomes more pronounced as the dosage increases. More specifically, biochemcal analyses of embryonic homogenate show that at the dosage levels of 4 and 5mg/kg, Zi Shan Chun raise the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and lower the levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and total protein (TP). At 6mg/kg, Zi Shan Chun lowers the level of ALP while raising that of LDH. All of these changes are statistically significant.(10)

Another study treated 17 cases of recurrent, metastatic, platinum-resistant mammary cancer with Zi Shan Chun, reporting that of the 14 cases on which a therapeutic effect could be assessed, 43% entered complete remission and the remaining 57% entered partial remission, with a total effective rate 100%.(12)

Carcinoma of esophagus
One study compared the effects of treating carcinoma of esophagus with Zi Shan Chun (TAX) alone, with Zi Shan Chun in combination with chemotherapy, and with chemotherapy alone. Cis-diamine-dichloride-platinum (DDP) and 5-florouracil (5-FU) were the chemotherapy evaluated. The results: the total effective rates for the group treated with Zi Zhan Chun alone, the combination treatment group, and the group treated with chemotherapy alone were 33.3%, 77%, and 53%, respectively.(13)

Ovarian cancer
One study treated a total of 53 cases of ovarian and mammary cancer with Zi Shan Chun. Separate comparison groups were set up and treated with Zi Shan Chun in conjunction with chemotherapy. The results: The ovarian cancer treatment group had an effective rate of 36.4%, as compared to the comparison group's 58.3% The mammary cancer treatment group had an effective rate of 56.2%, as compared to the comparison group's 42.8%.(14)

Lung cancer
In conjunction with cis-diamine-dichloride-platinum (DDP) chemotherapy, Zi Shan Chun was used to treat 14 cases of advanced non-parvicellular lung cancer, with a total effective rate of 50%. This rate is higher than the total effective rates reported for conventional chemotherapy treating non-parvicellular lung cancer.(15)

Another study treated 28 cases of advanced lung cancer with Zi Shan Chun. Another 28 cases were treated with Zi Shan Chun in conjunction with chemotherapy. The results: the group treated with Zi Shan Chun alone had a total effective rate of 57.1% and the group treated with Zi Shan Chun in conjunction with chemotherapy had a rate of 42.8%.(16)

Other cancers
To varying degrees, Zi Shan Chun is also effective in treating recurring and refractory lymphoma(17) and nasolaryngeal carcinoma.(18)