Immunological and Tumoricidal Properties of Ukrain

J. W. NOWICKY. G. MANOLAKIS. D. MEIJER,* V. VATANASAPT, W. J. BRZOSKO, and A. LOHNINGER

Ukrainian Anti-Cancer Institute. Margaretenstrasse 7, 1040 Vienna. Austria;
Biomedical Clinic. Mbabane. Swaziland: Clinic for After Treatment, Overdinkel, The Netherlands*;
Department of Surgery. Faculty of Medicine. Khon Kaen University. Thailand;
Society for Natural Medicine, Willowa 8/10, 00-790 Warsaw. Poland; and
Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Vienna Medical School. Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna. Austria

Ukrain is a semisynthetic compound from Chelidonium majus L. alkaloids and thiophosphoric acid. Chemically it is tris(2-([5bS-(5ba,6b,12ba)]-5b,6,7,12b,13,14-hexahydro-13-methyl[1,3]benzodioxolo[5,6-c]-1,3-dioxolo[4,5-i]phenanthridinium-6-o]-ethane-aminyl]phosphinesulfide • 6HCl. It shows malignotoxic and immune stimulating properties (I). Being toxic to cancer cells in a range of about 10^-4 mol, it shows no toxic properties to normal cells in even 100-fold-higher concentration (2-4). The present studies were undertaken to confirm and extend the previous observations concerning both the anticancer efficacy of Ukrain and its immunomodulatory activity in vivo. Thirty-two healthy volunteers (25 to 55 years; 16 females and 16 males) were treated with Ukrain according to the same schema. In contrast to the oncological patients, no significant changes in T lymphocyte subsets of the healthy volunteers could be induced by Ukrain.