[Experimental study on the processed drug of castor seeds in the therapy of pulmonary carcinoma].

In this study, castor seeds were processed by one of the traditional Chinese methods, LD50 was measured and tumor inhition tests in nude mice bearing human pulmonary carcinoma were conducted. The results showed that the processing method was able to lower the toxicity of castor seeds and maintain their antitumor effect, thus providing an experimental basis for oral administration of castor seeds in the therapy of pulmonary carcinoma.

Immunoassay of taxol and taxol-like compounds in plant extracts.

A mouse monoclonal anti-taxol antibody (69E4A8E) and a rabbit polyclonal anti-taxol antiserum were used to measure taxol levels in plant extracts in a double-blind experiment in conjunction with assays by HPLC. 69E4A8E was previously shown by ELISA to be specific for taxol with only a slight cross reaction with another bioactive compound, cephalomannine; the antiserum, on the other hand, was, by radioimmunoassay (RIA), essentially equally reactive with taxol and cephalomannine. Immunoassays of the plant extracts gave results in agreement with that found by HPLC, suggesting that the antibodies can be used in simple routine procedures for the quantification of taxol or taxol-like compounds in extracts of plants or other potential natural sources.