OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the anticancer effects of Strobilanthes crispus juice on hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: MTT assays, flow cytometry, comet assays and the reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to determine the effects of juice on DNA damage and cancer cell numbers.
RESULTS: This juice induced apoptosis after exposure of the HepG2 cell line for 72 h. High percentages of apoptotic cell death and DNA damage were seen at the juice concentrations above 0.1%. It was found that the juice was not toxic for normal cells. In addition, juice exposure increased the expression level of c-myc gene and reduced the expression level of c-fos and c-erbB2 genes in HepG2 cells. The cytotoxic effects of juice on abnormal cells were in dose dependent.
CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the Strobilanthes crispus juice may have chemopreventive effects on hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Considering the ability of SCS to also promote the activity of the antiestrogen, tamoxifen, we further examined the effect of SCS in modulating cell cycle progression and related proteins in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells alone and in combination with tamoxifen. Expression of cell cycle- related transcripts was analysed based on a previous microarray dataset.
RESULTS: SCS significantly caused G1 arrest of both types of cells, similar to tamoxifen and this was associated with modulation of cyclin D1, p21 and p53. In combination with tamoxifen, the anticancer effects involved downregulation of ERα protein in MCF-7 cells but appeared independent of an ER-mediated mechanism in MDA-MB-231 cells. Microarray data analysis confirmed the clinical relevance of the proteins studied.
CONCLUSIONS: The current data suggest that SCS growth inhibitory effects are similar to that of the antiestrogen, tamoxifen, further supporting the previously demonstrated cytotoxic and apoptotic actions of both agents.
METHODS: C. nutans leaves was extracted with 50-100% ethanol or deionised water at 1% (w/v). Human umbilical veins endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation was examined using MTT assay. The in vitro anti-angiogenic effects of C. nutans were assessed using wound scratch, tube formation and transwell migration assays. The VEGF levels secreted by human oral squamous cell carcinoma (HSC-4) cell and HUVEC permeability were also measured. Besides, the rat aortic ring and chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays, representing ex vivo and in vivo models, respectively, were performed.
RESULTS: The MTT assay revealed that water extract of C. nutans leaves exhibited the highest activity, compared to the ethanol extracts. Therefore, the water extract was chosen for subsequent experiments. C. nutans leaf extract significantly suppressed endothelial cell proliferation and migration in both absence and presence of VEGF. However, the water extract failed to suppress HUVEC transmigration, differentiation and permeability. C. nutans water extract also did not suppress HSC-4 cell-induced VEGF production. Importantly, C. nutans water extract significantly abolished the sprouting of vessels in aortic rings as well as in chick embryo CAM.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, these findings reveal potential anti-angiogenic effects of C. nutans, providing new evidence for its potential application as an anti-angiogenic agent.
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the anti-atherosclerotic activity of a C. nutans leaf methanol extract (CNME) in a type 2 diabetic (T2D) rat model induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and low-dose streptozotocin.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: non-diabetic fed a standard diet (C), C + CNME (500 mg/kg, orally), diabetic fed an HFD (DM), DM + CNME (500 mg/kg), and DM + Metformin (DM + Met; 300 mg/kg). Treatment with oral CNME and metformin was administered for 4 weeks. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), serum lipid profile, atherogenic index (AI), aortic tissue superoxide dismutase levels (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were measured. The rats' aortas were stained for histological analysis and intima-media thickness (IMT), a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis.
RESULTS: The CNME-treated diabetic rats had reduced serum total cholesterol (43.74%; p = 0.0031), triglycerides (80.91%; p = 0.0003), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (56.64%; p = 0.0008), AI (51.32%; p
METHODS: Methods involved were MTT assay (cytotoxic activity), morphological cells analysis, flow cytometry and cell cycle analysis and western blot.
RESULTS: MTT assay revealed IC50 concentration was 1.61 µg/mL, 3T3-L1 cell lines were used to determine whether AgNps-CN is cytotoxic to normal cells. At the highest concentration (3 µg/mL), no cytotoxic activity has been observed. Flow cytometry assay revealed AgNps-CN caused apoptosis effects towards HSC-4 cell lines with significant changes were observed at G1 phase when compared with untreated cells. Morphological cells analysis revealed that most of the cells exhibit apoptosis characteristics rather than necrosis. Protein study revealed that ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 increased mainly due to down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression.
CONCLUSION: AgNps-CN have shown potential in inhibiting HSC-4 cell lines. IC50 was low compared to few studies involving biosynthesized of silver nanoparticles. Apoptosis effects were shown towards HSC-4 cell lines by the increased in Bax/Bcl-2 protein ratio. Further study such as PCR or in vivo studies are required.
METHODS: We investigated the anti-proliferative efficacy of polar leaf extracts (LP), non-polar leaf extracts (LN), polar stem extract (SP) and non-polar stem extracts (SN) in human breast, colorectal, lung, endometrial, nasopharyngeal, and pancreatic cancer cells using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, MTT assay. The most potent extracts was tested along with gemcitabine using our established drug combination analysis. The effect of the combinatory treatment in apoptosis were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Annexin V assay, antibody array and immunoblotting. Statistical significance was analysed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc Dunnett's test. A p-value of less than 0.05 (p
OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the relationship between the chemical composition of C. nutans and its anti-inflammatory properties using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics approach.
METHODOLOGY: The anti-inflammatory effect of C. nutans air-dried leaves extracted using five different binary extraction solvent ratio and two extraction methods was determined based on their nitric oxide (NO) inhibition effect in lipopolysaccharide-interferon-gamma (LPS-IFN-γ) activated RAW 264.7 macrophages. The relationship between extract bioactivity and metabolite profiles and quantifications were established using 1 H-NMR metabolomics and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The possible metabolite biosynthesis pathway was constructed to further strengthen the findings.
RESULTS: Water and sonication prepared air-dried leaves possessed the highest NO inhibition activity (IC50 = 190.43 ± 12.26 μg/mL, P