Herbal composition for treating metastatic breast cancer

Abstract

The invention provides a composition comprising a mixture of extracts obtained from Atractylodes macrocephala, Astragalus membranaceus, Taraxacum mongolicum, Poria cocos, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Ligustrum lucidum, Codonopsis pilosula, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Hedyotis diffusa, Pseudostellaria heterophylla , and Viola philippica . The present invention further provides a method for treating metastatic breast cancer in a subject in need thereof, comprising: administering to said subject an pharmaceutically effective amount of the composition.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A composition comprising a mixture of extracts obtained from  Atractylodes macrocephala, Astragalus membranaceus, Taraxacum mongolicum, Poria cocos, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Ligustrum lucidum, Codonopsis pilosula, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Hedyotis diffusa, Pseudostellaria heterophylla , and  Viola philippica.    
     
     
         2 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the extracts are organic solvent extracts. 
     
     
         3 . The composition of  claim 2 , wherein the organic solvent is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, acetic acid, ketone, hexane, propanol, isopropanol and chloroform. 
     
     
         4 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the extracts are obtained from the whole plants. 
     
     
         5 . The composition of  claim 1 , which has a concentration of ingredients as follows:
 250 mg/mL of  Atractylodes macrocephala,  330 mg/mL of  Astragalus membranaceus,  500 mg/mL of  Taraxacum mongolicum,  330 mg/mL of  Poria cocos,  250 mg/mL of  Ligusticum chuanxiong,  250 mg/mL of  Ligustrum lucidum,  250 mg/mL of  Codonopsis pilosula,  160 mg/mL of  Glycyrrhiza uralensis,  330 mg/mL of  Hedyotis diffusa,  250 mg/mL of  Pseudostellaria heterophylla , and 160 mg/mL of  Viola philippica.      
     
     
         6 . A method for treating metastatic breast cancer in a subject in need thereof, comprising: administering to said subject an pharmaceutically effective amount of a composition comprising a mixture of extracts obtained from  Atractylodes macrocephala, Astragalus membranaceus, Taraxacum mongolicum, Poria cocos, Ligusticum chuanxiong, Ligustrum lucidum, Codonopsis pilosula, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Hedyotis diffusa, Pseudostellaria heterophylla , and  Viola philippica.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the extracts are organic solvent extracts. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the organic solvent is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, acetic acid, ketone, hexane, propanol, isopropanol and chloroform. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the extracts are obtained from the whole plants. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , which has a concentration of ingredients as follows:
 250 mg/mL of  Atractylodes macrocephala,  330 mg/mL of  Astragalus membranaceus,  500 mg/mL of  Taraxacum mongolicum,  330 mg/mL of  Poria cocos,  250 mg/mL of  Ligusticum chuanxiong,  250 mg/mL of  Ligustrum lucidum,  250 mg/mL of  Codonopsis pilosula,  160 mg/mL of  Glycyrrhiza uralensis,  330 mg/mL of  Hedyotis diffusa,  250 mg/mL of  Pseudostellaria heterophylla , and 160 mg/mL of  Viola philippica.      
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the metastatic breast cancer is refractory metastatic breast cancer. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the composition improves global health status/quality of life (GHS/QOL) scale of the subject. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the composition increases the level of CD3, CD4/CD8, CD19, and CD16+56 positive cells in the subject. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the composition increases the physical, role, emotional, and cognitive functioning. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the composition decreases fatigue and systemic therapy side effects.