Anti-breast cancer effects of the Xingxiao Pill are associated with inhibition of the ErbB3/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, modulation of amino acid metabolism, and promotion of apoptosis.

Zhang Jingyue, Cheng J, Cao F, Qi Q, Zhang S, Wang Y, Wu R, Li H, Li C, Zhang N, Li W · 2026 · Journal of Ethnopharmacology · Atlas ID ZHANG2026C

What this study shows

Xingxiao Pill inhibited 4T1 breast cancer growth in vitro and in vivo by suppressing ErbB3/PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling and reshaping amino acid metabolism; cinnamic acid and palmitic acid were identified as constituents that bind mTOR.

Abstract

ShowHide

The Xingxiao Pill (XXP) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula used in tumour therapy. XXP exhibited proliferation-inhibiting activity against eight breast cancer cell lines and both proliferation-inhibiting and apoptosis-promoting activity against 4T1 cells in vitro and in a 4T1 subcutaneous tumour model in vivo. XXP induced mitochondrial apoptosis via the cytochrome C/caspase-9/caspase-3/PARP cascade.

Read the full abstract on PubMed →

At a glance

Evidence type	A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: Mouse (4T1 subcutaneous model); breast cancer cell lines); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type	4 - Animal Study
Model system	Mouse (4T1 subcutaneous model); breast cancer cell lines
Journal	Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Year	2026
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1016/j.jep.2026.122321 · PMID 42648410

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Xingxiao Pill (TCM formula); cinnamic acid; palmitic acid
Target	ErbB3/PI3K/AKT/mTOR; amino acid metabolism
Model	Mouse
Effect	Inhibited proliferation and induced caspase-mediated apoptosis; reduced AKT/mTOR phosphorylation

In the Atlas

Cite this paper

ShowHide

Zhang Jingyue, Cheng, J., Cao, F., Qi, Q., Zhang, S., Wang, Y., Wu, R., Li, H., Li, C., Zhang, N., & Li, W. (2026). Anti-breast cancer effects of the Xingxiao Pill are associated with inhibition of the ErbB3/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, modulation of amino acid metabolism, and promotion of apoptosis. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2026.122321

@article{ZHANG2026C,
  author       = {Zhang Jingyue and Cheng, J. and Cao, F. and Qi, Q. and Zhang, S. and Wang, Y. and Wu, R. and Li, H. and Li, C. and Zhang, N. and Li, W.},
  title        = {{Anti-breast cancer effects of the Xingxiao Pill are associated with inhibition of the ErbB3/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, modulation of amino acid metabolism, and promotion of apoptosis}},
  journal      = {Journal of Ethnopharmacology},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.jep.2026.122321},
  note         = {PMID: 42648410},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record ZHANG2026C) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/ZHANG2026C/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_ZHANG2026C,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record ZHANG2026C},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/ZHANG2026C/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

Was this page useful?