AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to use a computational target fishing approach to predict the possible therapeutic effect of Marantodes pumilum and evaluated their effectivity.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study involves a computational approach to identify the potential targets by using target fishing. Several databases were used: PubChem database to obtain the chemical structure of interested compounds; Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) server and the SWISSADME web tool to identify and select the compounds having drug-likeness properties; PharmMapper was used to identify top ten target protein of the selected compounds and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) was used to predict human genetic problems; the gene id of top-10 proteins was obtained from UniProtKB to be analyzed by using GeneMANIA server to check the genes' function and their co-expression; Gene Pathway established by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) of the selected targets were analyzed by using EnrichR server and confirmed by using DAVID (The Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery) version 6.8 and STRING database. All the interaction data was analyzed by Cytoscape version 3.7.2 software. The protein structure of most putative proteins was obtained from the RCSB protein data bank. Thedocking analysis was conducted using PyRx biological software v0.8 and illustrated by BIOVIA Discovery Studio Visualizer version 20.1.0. As a preliminary evaluation, a cell viability assay using Sulforhodamine B was conducted to evaluate the potential of the predicted therapeutic effect.
RESULTS: It was found that four studied compounds are highly correlated with three proteins: EFGR, CDK2, and ESR1. These proteins are highly associated with cancer pathways, especially breast cancer and prostate cancer. Qualitatively, cell proliferation assay conducted shown that the extract has IC50 of 88.69 μg/ml against MCF-7 and 66.51 μg/ml against MDA-MB-231.
CONCLUSIONS: Natural herbs are one of the most common forms of complementary and alternative medicine, and they play an important role in disease treatment. The results of this study show that in addition to being used traditionally to maintain women's health, the use of Marantodes pumilum indirectly has the potential to protect against the development of cancer cells, especially breast cancer. Therefore, further research is necessary to confirm the potential of this plant to be used in the development of anti-cancer drugs, especially for breast cancer.
AIMS OF THE STUDY: The aims of this review were to assess the scale of the global trade in F. cirrhosa, and to synthesise studies of the impacts of wild harvest on F. cirrhosa populations and on the extent of emerging cultivation initiatives as an alternative to wild harvest.
METHODS: Firstly, we reviewed published information on studies on impacts of wild F. cirrhosa harvest from across the geographic range of this species. Secondly, global trade data for F. cirrhosa were analysed.
RESULTS: The principal demand for F. cirrhosa bulbs is in China, where hundreds of different companies produce Fritillaria preparations. Trade data also show that in 2013, China exported over 44 tonnes of F. cirrhosa bulbs to Taiwan and 26.7 tonnes to the Republic of Korea. Extensive commercial use and limited wild stocks result in a high price (2000 - 3800 CNY per kg (around US$ 303 -560 per kg in 2017)) for F. cirrhosa bulbs. Prices of cultivated Fritillaria bulbs are much lower (600-680 CNY per kg in 2017) than wild harvested bulbs. But due to very specific growth requirements of F. cirrhosa, cultivation is not yet able to meet total demand. The consequence is continued exploitation of wild stocks. At the same time, however, an increasing proportion of the demand is met by cultivation of alternative Fritillaria species that are easier to grow than F. cirrhosa. The air-dry mass of F. cirrhosa bulbs varies between 0.0917 and 0.1116 g per bulb. This represents 8960 - 10,900 bulbs/kg or 8.9 - 10.9 million bulbs per tonne. Current demand therefore represents billions of bulbs per year.
CONCLUSIONS: Demand for F. cirrhosa bulbs, particularly from China, makes this species one of the most intensively harvested alpine Himalayan medicinal bulbs. Although F. cirrhosa is listed as a Class III protected species in China, billions of these tiny, wild harvested bulbs are sold per year. Due to demand exceeding supply, the price of F. cirrhosa bulbs has increased dramatically. Between 2002 and 2017, for example, the price of wild harvested F. cirrhosa bulbs increased over nine-fold, from the equivalent of US$60 in 2002 to US$560 per kg in 2017. To date, cultivation has been unable to meet the entire market demand for F. cirrhosa bulbs, although other Fritillaria species are successfully cultivated on a larger scale.