Indirubin

BeschreibungA further alkaloid isolated from the matured fruit of Couroupita guianensis, this base forms red crystals from EtOH and melts above 340°C. It forms the Nacetyl derivative, m.p. 186°C. The full structure has not yet been established.

HistoryThe report in 1951 showed that indirubin can inhibit eosinophils in the blood of guinea pigs. But this report did not attract attention. Indirubin is the effective component of the traditional Chinese medicine Angelica aloe pill. Since 1966, the scientists in the Institute of Hematonosis, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Research, started the research of therapying chronic myelocytic leukemia with the TCM rules using Angelica aloe pills, which had certain effect. Angelica aloe pill consisted of 11 herbs, such as Angelica, Aloe, Rhizoma Coptidis, and natural indigo. It was identified that natural indigo was the effective component of Angelica aloe pill. However, the active ingredient of natural indigo was indirubin.Indirubin is a novel antileukemia drug, which was found by the medical scientists in China in the middle of the 1970s. It has the effects of antibacterial, antiinflammatory, antitumor, and enhancing immune functions. The compound has been applied to the clinical treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. Indirubin has the characteristics of reliable clinical curative effect, small side effects, and no obvious inhibitory effect on the bone marrow.