Byzantium
Michael J. O’Dowd in The History of Medications for Women, 2020
Powdered cantharides was gray-brown in color with shiny green particles and had a strong disagreeable odor. The active principle, cantharidin, was found to be a lactone. When taken internally it acted as a very powerful irritant. Cantharidin plasters contained 0.2% of the lactone and were employed to cause blistering and redness in restricted areas of the skin. Application of cantharidin to the mucus membranes caused intense irritation, pain and blistering. Cantharides owed its reputation as an aphrodisiac to profound irritation of the urethra caused by the passage of urine containing dissolved cantharidin (Lewis, 1964). Cantharidin was found to be highly toxic and the fatal dose was less than 60 mg. It was nephrotoxic and had multiple constitutional effects. Cantharides was prescribed to remove skin lesions such as wans and was in common medicinal use until the mid-twentieth century.
Clinician’s Guide to Common Arthropod Bites and Stings *
Gail Miriam Moraru, Jerome Goddard in The Goddard Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, Seventh Edition, 2019
Blister beetles do not bite or sting, but contain vessicating fluid in their hemolymph which is released when handled or crushed. The toxins, pederin or cantharidin, depending on the species, cause exfoliation and a superficial epidermal blister in the skin often in a linear shape denoting external contact with the insect body.9,15 The lesion may be associated with burning and pruritus, and usually evolves with crusting over 7 days, leaving a macular post-inflammatory erythema. Interestingly, health care providers utilize an extract from blister beetles called cantharidin. Application of cantharidin allows controlled damage of skin infected with viruses such as molluscum contagiousum or human papilloma virus.
Warts
Nilton Di Chiacchio, Antonella Tosti in Therapies for Nail Disorders, 2020
Cantharidin is a terpenoid isolated from the blister beetle, Cantharis vesicatoria. Its application leads to activation of proteases, triggering acantholysis and eventually, apoptosis of treated cells.25 Cantharidin 0.7% is typically applied directly to the lesion, taking care to avoid unaffected skin, as it leads to blistering. Patients should keep the area covered for 4–8 hours, and then thoroughly clean it with soap and water. They should be instructed that a blister will form in the area and resolve in 1–2 weeks. Side effects include pain and tenderness at the treated site.
Use of different ligand modification liposomes to evaluate the anti-liver tumor activity of cantharidin
Published in Journal of Liposome Research, 2023
Manshu Zou, Yilin Xu, Peng Lin, Lili Zhou, Xinhua Xia
Cantharidin has low solubility, which not only makes its adsorption difficult but also results in low bioavailability. At present, researchers have employed the nanoliposome technology to effectively solve this problem. In this study, we successfully constructed an active targeting liposome for tumor penetration delivery of cantharidin to achieve efficient suppression of hepatocellular carcinoma. This novel system was therapeutically efficacious both in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, the liposomes modified by 11-DGA-Suc or SA-Gal showed excellent in vivo and in vitro targeting properties relative to CTD-lip, significantly improving the inhibitory effect on the growth of tumor cells, inducing apoptosis of tumor cells, and prolonging survival times of tumor-bearing mice.
Dietary Phytochemicals as a Potential Source for Targeting Cancer Stem Cells
Published in Cancer Investigation, 2021
Prasath Manogaran, Devan Umapathy, Manochitra Karthikeyan, Karthikkumar Venkatachalam, Anbu Singaravelu
Cantharidin (CTD) is a terpenoid, isolated from Blister Beetles (Chinese traditional herb), used for the treatment of Molluscum contagiosum and warts since 1950 (70). CTD was one of the first pharmaco active natural products reported and used (71) and was long considered a sexual stimulant (71–74), also decreases the viability of hepatocellular carcinoma stem cells (HCSCs) dose-dependently. Cantharidin treatment reserved the self-renewal ability of the HCSCs and the expression of β-catenin and cyclin D1. Furthermore, cantharid in significantly arrests the cell cycle at G2/M phase and increases the expression of H2AX, Myt1, cyclin A2, cyclin B1, p53, and cdc2 (Tyr15) in HCSCs (75). Wang et al., (2015) have found that cantharidin treatment inhibits the stemness of pancreatic cancer cells (CD44, CD24, and EPCAM) by modulating the β-catenin pathway and further, this molecule enhances the anticancer potential of gemcitabine and erlotinib in pancreatic cancer stem cells (76) (Figure 5).
In-vivo anti-tumor activity of a novel poloxamer-based thermosensitive in situ gel for sustained delivery of norcantharidin
Published in Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, 2019
Ming-Hua Xie, Min Ge, Jia-Bei Peng, Xiao-Rui Jiang, Ding-Sheng Wang, Li-Qiang Ji, Yin Ying, Zeng Wang
Cantharidin is extracted from blister beetles (Mylabris phalerata Pall) and has been used for medicinal purposes in China for many years. However, the clinical application of cantharidin has been restricted due to its significant side effects, such as renal toxicity. Recently, norcantharidin (NCTD), a derivative of cantharidin, has been synthesized by the removal of two methyl groups. NCTD is an efficacious anti-tumor drug, and renal toxicity of this drug is significantly reduced by its formulation. Researchers have shown that NCTD has the potential to treat primary hepatocellular carcinoma, and can also benefit the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, esophageal cancer, cardiac cancer, hepatitis, ovarian cancer and psoriasis (Chen et al. 2013; Chu et al. 2013; Deng et al. 2013; Dessì et al. 2013). Indeed, clinical studies have, to date, been promising (Gandra et al. 2015; Li et al. 2013; Lin et al. 2015; Liu et al. 2016; Lu et al. 2015). Nevertheless, the clinical application of NCTD is still restricted due to fast elimination, leading to frequent injections and low patient compliance. Therefore, in order to enhance anti-tumor activity, a novel formulation of NCTD with slow release and specific targeting characteristics is of imminent need (Ma et al. 2014).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Aphrodisiac
- Chemical Burn
- Molluscum Contagiosum
- Terpenoid
- Spanish Fly
- Epa List of Extremely Hazardous Substances
- Natural Product
- Tricyclic
- Organic Acid Anhydride
- Ether