Inch plant

The whole herb contains β-sitosterol, 3β,5α,6β-trihydroxystigmastane, and succinic acid. The leaves contain four acetylated anthocyanins, including tradescantin and monodecaffeoyltradescantin.

Antitumor effect: The aqueous extract and alcohol extract of Tradescantia zebrina given by intraperitoneal injection at 200 mg/kg produced tumor inhibition rates of 45% and 49%, respectively, against mouse ascitic sarcoma S180. Three active antitumor components were isolated from the whole herb; when injected into tumor-bearing mice, the inhibition rates were 43% for succinic acid (160 mg/kg) and 98% for 3β,5α,6β-trihydroxystigmastane (100 mg/kg). Especially with the latter, even doubling the dose produced no detectable toxicity, and body-weight gain remained parallel to the normal group.

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