Abstract Margaritaria discoidea (Baill.) G. L. Webster (Euphorbiaceae) is a well-known medicinal plant in Africa used for the treatment of various diseases. So far, no cytotoxic effects of plant extracts on cancer cell lines have been reported.
Aim of the studyTo evaluate the cytotoxicity against human ovarian cancer cells of extracts of M. discoidea and characterize the major bioactive compounds.
MethodsBoth organic and aqueous extracts of this plant were obtained by maceration. The sulforhodamine B cell proliferation assay was used for evaluation of their cytotoxic activities and the potential bioactive compounds were characterized by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.
ResultsThe organic extract of M. discoidea showed stronger cytotoxicity than the aqueous extract with IC50 values of 14.4 ± 3.0, 14.2 ± 1.2 and 34.7 ± 0.5 µg/ml on OVCAR-8, A2780 and cisplatin-resistant A2780cis ovarian cancer cells, respectively. The organic extract was further subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation by partitioning with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol in water. The ethyl acetate fraction was the most potent on the three ovarian cancer cell lines. A GC–MS analysis of trimethylsilyl derivatives of this fraction indicated the presence of phenolic compounds such as gallic acid and the alkaloid securinine. The IC50 values of these two compounds were determined to be in the range of 3–16 µM, which indicated that they could contribute to the cytotoxic activity of the extract of M. discoidea.
ConclusionsThis study has evaluated the cytotoxicity of stem bark extracts of M. discoidea against ovarian cancer cells and provided a basis of further development of this plant for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
Phytochemicals, antioxidant properties and anticancer investigations of the different parts of several gingers species (Boesenbergia rotunda, Boesenbergia pulchella var attenuata and Boesenbergia armeniaca) Ling Jing Jing1, Maryati Mohamed2, Asmah Rahmat3 and Mohd Fadzelly Abu Bakar1*
1Laboratory of Natural Products, Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked Bag No. 2073, 88999, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. 2Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environment, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. 3Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Abstract Extracts (methanol) of the leaves, stem and rhizome of Boesenbergia species were studied for their phytochemical constituents, total phenolics and flavonoid contents, antioxidant as well as anticancer properties. The plants revealed the presence of polyphenols such as quercetin, kaempferol, rutin, naringin, hesperidin, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, sinapic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, luteolin and diosmin by using High Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC). It was indicated with significant composition of hesperidin and naringin in B. pulchella var attenuata (leaves and stem); quercetin and kaempferol in B. rotunda; luteolin in B. armeniaca. The results of antioxidant assessments conducted were similar to the trend of total phenolic and flavonoid contents: B. pulchella var attenuata> B. rotunda> B. armeniaca. In the cytotoxicity assay, B. rotunda showed the most prominent and promising result as anticancer medicinal plant. It showed positive antiproliferative effect against five cancer cell lines: ovarian (CaOV3), breast (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7), cervical (HeLa) and colon (HT-29) cancer cell lines with 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay conducted. In addition, the rhizome of B. pulchella var attenuata and B. armeniaca shown positive result in cytotoxicity assay tested against breast cancer (MCF-7). Thus, the Boesenbergia species investigated would be a promising anticancer remedy for breast cancer.
Source : Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 4(1), pp. 027-032, 4 January, 2010 Link to Full Article
Potent cytotoxic effects of Calomeria amaranthoides on ovarian cancers Caroline van Haaften1 , Colin C Duke2 , Arij M Weerheim3 , Nico PM Smit4 , Paul MM van Haard5 , Firouz Darroudi6 and Baptist JMZ Trimbos1
1
Department of Gynaecology, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands 2
Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia 3
Skin Research Laboratory, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands 4
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands 5
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Medical Laboratories, Reinier de Graaf Group of Hospitals, Delft, The Netherlands 6
Department of Toxicogenetics, Leiden University, Medical Center Leiden, The Netherlands
Abstract
Background
Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynaecological
malignancy. More than 60% of the patients are presenting the disease in
stage III or IV. In spite of combination of chemotherapy and surgery
the prognosis stays poor for therapy regimen.
Methods
The leaves of a plant endemic to Australia, Calomeria amaranthoides, were extracted and then fractionated by column chromatography. In vitro cytotoxicity
tests were performed with fractions of the plant extract and later with
an isolated compound on ovarian cancer cell lines, as well as normal
fibroblasts at concentrations of 1-100 μg/mL (crude extract) and 1-10
μg/mL (compound). Cytotoxicity was measured after 24, 48 and 72 hours by
using a non-fluorescent substrate, Alamar blue.
In vivo cytotoxicity was tested on ascites, developed in the abdomen of nude mice after inoculation with human OVCAR3 cells
intraperitoneally. The rate of change in abdomen size for the mice was
determined by linear regression and statistically evaluated for
significance by the unpaired t test.
Results
Two compounds were isolated by chromatographic
fractionation and identified by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectrometry
analyses, EPD, an α-methylene sesquiterpene lactone of the
eremophilanolide subtype, and EPA, an α-methylene carboxylic acid.
Cytotoxicity of EPD for normal fibroblasts at all time points IC50 was
greater than 10 μg/mL, whereas, for OVCAR3 cells at 48 hours IC50 was
5.3 μg/mL (95% confidence interval 4.3 to 6.5 μg/mL).
Both, the crude plant extract as well as EPD killed the cancer cells at a
final concentration of 10 μg/mL and 5 μg/mL respectively, while in
normal cells only 20% cell killing effect was observed. EPA had no
cytotoxic effects.
Changes in abdomen size for control versus Cisplatin treated mice
were significantly different, P = 0.023, as were control versus EPD
treated mice, P = 0.025, whereas, EPD versus Cisplatin treated mice were
not significantly different, P = 0.13.
Conclusions
For the first time both crude plant extract from Calomeria amaranthoides and EPD have been shown to have potent anti-cancer effects against ovarian cancer.
Source : Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research LINK TO FULL ARTICLE Jaceosidin Induces Apoptosis in Human Ovary Cancer Cells through Mitochondrial Pathway
Wen Lv,1 Xia Sheng,2 Ting Chen,2 Qiang Xu,2 and Xing Xie1 1 The Second Affiliated Hospital, Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310009, China 2 State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
We examined the antiproliferation effect of Jaceosidin (4, 5, 7-trihydroxy-3, 6-dimethoxyflavone) isolated from the herb of Artemisia vestita Wall on several human cancer cell lines. Jaceosidin significantly reduced the proliferation of CAOV-3, SKOV-3, HeLa, and PC3 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. A time-dependent inhibition was also observed in CAOV-3 cells by Jaceosidin. By flow cytometric analysis, we found that Jaceosidin treatment resulted in an increased apoptosis in CAOV-3 cells. The cells treated with Jaceosidin exhibited a decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. Jaceosidin also increased the level of cleaved caspase-9 and induced the cleavage of caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), while caspase-3 inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK significantly reversed the proapoptotic effect of Jaceosidin in CAOV-3 cells.Moreover, Jaceosidin elevated the level of cytochrome c in cytosol. These findings suggest that the anticancer effect of Jaceosidin may be contributed by an induction of apoptosis involving cytochrome c release from mitochondria to cytosol.
Abstract. Background Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc) is a natural dietary component with antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. The ginger component [6]-gingerol has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects through mediation of NF-κB. NF-κB can be constitutively activated in epithelial ovarian cancer cells and may contribute towards increased transcription and translation of angiogenic factors. In the present study, we investigated the effect of ginger on tumor cell growth and modulation of angiogenic factors in ovarian cancer cells in vitro.
Conclusion Ginger inhibits growth and modulates secretion of angiogenic factors in ovarian cancer cells. The use of dietary agents such as ginger may have potential in the treatment and prevention of ovarian cancer.
Epicatechins Purified from Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) Differentially Suppress Growth of Gender-Dependent Human Cancer Cell Lines
Mepur H. Ravindranath1, Thiruverkadu S. Saravanan1, Clarence C. Monteclaro1, Naftali Presser1, Xing Ye1, Senthamil R. Selvan2 and Stanley Brosman3 1
Department of Glycoimmunotherapy, John Wayne Cancer Institute Santa Monica, CA, 2 Cell Biology Laboratory, Hoag Cancer Center, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Newport Beach, CA, and 3 Pacific Clinical Research Santa Monica, CA
The anticancer potential of catechins derived from green tea is not well understood, in part because catechin-related growth suppression and/or apoptosis appears to vary with the type and stage of malignancy as well as with the type of catechin. Thisin vitro study examined the biological effects of epicatechin(EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), EC 3-gallate (ECG) and EGC 3-gallate(EGCG) in cell lines from human gender-specific cancers. Celllines developed from organ-confined (HH870) and metastatic (DU145)prostate cancer, and from moderately (HH450) and poorly differentiated(HH639) epithelial ovarian cancer were grown with or without EC, EGC, ECG or EGCG. When untreated cells reached confluency,viability and doubling time were measured for treated and untreated cells. Whereas EC treatment reduced proliferation of HH639 cells by 50%, EGCG suppressed proliferation of all cell lines by 50%.ECG was even more potent: it inhibited DU145, HH870, HH450 andHH639 cells at concentrations of 24, 27, 29 and 30 µM,whereas EGCG inhibited DU145, HH870, HH450 and HH639 cells at concentrations 89, 45, 62 and 42 µM. When compared with EGCG, ECG more effectively suppresses the growth of prostatecancer and epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines derived from tumors of patients with different stages of disease.