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Brassinolide is a plant growth regulator. Plant growth regulators are naturally produced by plants and are critical for regulating their own growth. Plant growth regulators act via modifying or controlling plant growth processes, such as leave and flower formation, stem elongation, as well as fruit development and ripening.
In vitro: Brassinolide induced the time and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity in PC-3 cells. The mode of such cell death appeared to be apoptosis predominately, as demonstrated by fluorescence, flow-cytometric analyses and transmission electron microscopes. Moreover, Caspase-3 activity was increased after brassinolide treatment obviously. Western blot studies showed brassinolide treatment triggered a time-dependent decrease in the expression of Bcl-2 [1].
In vivo: Brassinolide had the similar function of reducing the blood glucose levels as phenformin, but without the dose-dependent manner. The blood glucose levels showed significant differences after brassinolide treatment with different doses (200, 100, and 50 mg/kg). These results indicated that brassinolide could reduce the blood glucose levels without toxicity [2].
Clinical trial: So far, no clinical study has been reported.
References:
[1] Wu YD,Lou YJ. Brassinolide, a plant sterol from pollen of Brassica napus L., induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells. Pharmazie.2007 May;62(5):392-5.
[2] CHEN Shi-ping, HE Jia, WANG Qi-jing, WANG Jian-dong, YE Yan-li, XIAN Li-jian. Effect of Brassinolide on Levels of Blood Glucose in Alloxan—induced Diabetes Rats. Acta Metallurgica Sinica, 2009,V26(03): 21-23
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