An anti-estrogenic lignan glycoside, tracheloside, from seeds of Carthamus tinctorius

Abstract

The lignan glycoside, tracheloside, was isolated from seeds of Carthamus tinctorius (Compositae) as an anti-estrogenic principle against cultured Ishikawa cells by employing a bioassay-linked HPLC-ELSD method. Tracheloside significantly decreased the activity of alkaline phosphatase (AP), an estrogen-inducible marker enzyme, with an IC50 value of 0.31 mu g/ml, a level of inhibition comparable to that of tamoxifen (IC50 = 0.43 mu g/ml).