Triterpenoids from the Leaves of Centella asiatica Inhibit Ionizing Radiation-Induced Migration and Invasion of Human Lung Cancer Cells

Radiotherapy using ionizing radiation is a major therapeutic modality for advanced human lung cancers. However, ionizing radiation itself can induce malignant behaviors such as cancer cell migration and invasion, leading to local recurrence or distal metastasis. Therefore, safer and more effective agents that inhibit the metastatic behaviors of cancer cells in radiotherapy are needed. As a part of our ongoing search for new radiotherapy enhancers from medicinal herbs, we isolated the following triterpenoids from the ethanol extract of Centella asiatica: asiatic acid (1), madecassic acid (2), and asiaticoside (3). These compounds inhibited the ionizing radiation-induced migration and invasion of A549 human lung cancer cells at noncytotoxic concentrations. These results suggest that triterpenoids 1-3 isolated from C. asiatica are candidate natural compounds to enhance the effect of radiotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.