Biological Activity of Ukrain In Vitro and In Vivo.

J. NOWICKY, M. GREIF, F. HAMLER, W. HIESMAYR, W. STAUB

INTRODUCTION

Ukrain is a semisynthetic product gained from alkaloids of Chelidonium majus L. and thiophosphoric triaciridide acid. Different biological activities in vitro and in vivo arc described, especially four main properties:

1) Parenterally introduced into tumor bearing systems, it accumulates within malignant tissue.
2) Ukrain changes the oxygen consumption in malignant cell cultures, inasmuch as after a short time of excitation, oxygen consumption goes irreversibly to zero. No inhibition can be seen in normal cell cultures*.
3) Ukrain has modulating, stimulating, and normal effects on different immune responses. In vitro, it transforms lymphocytes; in vivo, it increases the T-helper/T-suppressor ratio and the activity of phagocytes and of NK-cells, whereas it only slightly changes other immunoparameters.
4) The therapeutic dose is about 10,000 times smaller than the toxic dose in animal experiments. Neither in vitro nor in vivo could mutagenic, teratogenic, or cancerogenic properties be elicited by ukrain or by any of its metabolites.

Whereas tumor-inhibiting experiments in artificially induced or transplanted malignancies in rodents showed no activity, the therapeutic action of ukrain could be demonstrated by spontaneously grown tumors in dogs and in humans.