Paris polyphylla is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb that has been used in treating cancer for thousands of years. Polyphyllin D is the steroidal saponin of P. polyphylla.

Breast Cancer

Polyphyllin D elicits apoptosis through mitochondria dysfunction. In vivo study demonstrated that daily administration of Polyphyllin D (2.73 mg/kg body weight) through intravenous injection for ten days in nude mice bearing MCF-7 cells effectively reduced tumor growth for 50% in terms of tumor weight and size, given no significant toxicity in heart and liver to the host. All these findings provide novel insights that Polyphyllin D could serve as a candidate in breast cancer treatment (Lee et al., 2005).

Reference

Lee MS, Yuet-Wa JC, Kong SK, et al. (2005). Effects of Polyphyllin D, a steroidal saponin in Paris polyphylla, in growth inhibition of human breast cancer cells and in xenograft. Cancer Biol Ther, 4(11):1248-54.