Page 286 - 2025中醫藥與天然藥物聯合學術研討會-中醫藥與天然藥物的挑戰Ｘ機遇與未來大會手冊

CM-19

Immunotherapeutic potential of Gardenia fructus in melanoma via cytotoxic

T cell activation and IL-17 modulation

2
Tzu-Yu Yang , #,1 Chuan-Teng Liu, Hung-Rong Yen, 1,2,3,4 Ying-Chyi Song* ,2,5,

1 School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University,
Taichung 404328,Taiwan
2 Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital,
Taichung 404327,Taiwan
3 Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung 404328,Taiwan
4 Division of Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, Department of Chinese Medicine,
China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404327,Taiwan
5 Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical
University, Taichung 404328,Taiwan
* E-mail: songyingchyi@gmail.com

Abstract
Gardenia fructus is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) historically used for its
detoxifying effects and treatment of skin diseases. Melanoma, although accounting for only
~1% of skin cancers, causes over 80% of related deaths. Current therapies remain limited due
to immunosuppression within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Thus, enhancing the
activation and infiltration of immune effector cells may provide therapeutic benefit. Our study
prepared water extract of Gardenia fructus (GJ) from concentrated powder and applied to
polarized Tc1 cells for cytotoxicity assays against B16-F10 melanoma cells; protein and
cytokine expression were analyzed by flow cytometry and western blot. Besides, C57BL/6
melanoma-bearing mice were treated with GJ, and tumor size and cytokine levels were assessed
for in vivo study, and additional experiments incorporated IL-17 gene deletion to evaluate
synergistic effects. Our results showed that GJ promoted Tc1/Th1-type immune responses and
enhanced tumor-killing activity against B16-F10 cells. However, elevated IL-17 levels in
C57BL/6 mice limited GJ efficacy by fostering an unfavorable TME, and thus combining GJ
treatment with IL-17 gene deletion significantly suppressed tumor growth and reshaped the
immune microenvironment toward anti-tumor activity in both tumors and lymph nodes. In
conclusion, Gardenia fructus enhances cytotoxic T cell activation as well as anti-tumor immune
responses; moreover, combining Gardenia fructus treatment with gene deletion of IL-17
blockade provides a novel immunotherapy strategy, supporting its therapeutic potential against
melanoma.

Keywords: Gardenia fructus; Melanoma; Immunotherapy; Cytotoxic T cells; IL-17