OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to assess the antiproliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects of stem parts of Elytranthe parasitica (L.) Danser (EP) on colorectal cancer and identify the bioactive phytochemicals.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: EP methanol extract (EP.M) and its subsequent fractions were screened for antiproliferative activity in human colorectal carcinoma HCT 116 cell line. Phytocomposition of the bioactive fraction was analyzed by GC-MS. Further, apoptotic induction and cell cycle arrest was assessed in the most bioactive fractions.
RESULTS: EP.DEE (Diethyl Ether) fraction and a subsequent fraction derived by column chromatography, Fraction 3A (FR 3A) significantly inhibited the proliferation of HCT 116 cells (P cell cycle checkpoints. GC-MS analysis of FR 3A revealed the presence of 24 phytochemicals, the most prominent of which was pinocembrin (70.67%), a flavonoid.
CONCLUSION: Hence, it could be speculated that pinocembrin and its related derivatives may be the chief phytochemicals involved in apoptosis - mediated cytotoxicity of the enriched fraction. Our findings indicate the enriched fraction is a promising candidate which could be developed into a natural chemotherapeutic product for colorectal cancer therapy.
METHOD: Young MP leaves were dried, powdered and extracted sequentially using hexane (HX), ethyl acetate (EA), methanol (MeOH) and water (W). Antioxidant activity was evaluated using ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radicals scavenging and cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) assays. Anti-proliferative activity was evaluated through cell viability assay, using the following four human cancer cell lines: breast (HCC1937, MDA-MB-231), colorectal (HCT116) and liver (HepG2). The anti-proliferative activity was further confirmed through cell cycle and apoptosis assays, including annexin-V/7-aminoactinomycin D staining and measurements of caspase enzymes activation and inhibition.
RESULT: Overall, MP-HX extract exhibited the highest antioxidant potential, with IC50 values of 267.73 ± 5.58 and 327.40 ± 3.80 μg/mL for ABTS and DPPH radical-scavenging assays, respectively. MP-HX demonstrated the highest CAA activity in Hs27 cells, with EC50 of 11.30 ± 0.68 μg/mL, while MP-EA showed EC50 value of 37.32 ± 0.68 μg/mL. MP-HX and MP-EA showed promising anti-proliferative activity towards the four cancer cell lines, with IC50 values that were mostly below 100 μg/mL. MP-HX showed the most notable anti-proliferative activity against MDA-MB-231 (IC50 = 57.81 ± 3.49 μg/mL) and HCT116 (IC50 = 58.04 ± 0.96 μg/mL) while MP-EA showed strongest anti-proliferative activity in HCT116 (IC50 = 64.69 ± 0.72 μg/mL). The anticancer potential of MP-HX and MP-EA were also demonstrated by their ability to induce caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death in all of the cancer cell lines tested. Cell cycle analysis suggested that both the MP-HX and MP-EA extracts were able to disrupt the cell cycle in most of the cancer cell lines.
CONCLUSIONS: MP-HX and MP-EA extracts demonstrated notable antioxidant, anti-proliferative, apoptosis induction and cancer cell cycle inhibition activities. These findings reflect the promising potentials of MP to be a source of novel phytochemical(s) with health promoting benefits that are also valuable for nutraceutical industry and cancer therapy.
METHODS: Six different extracts (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and water) were obtained from each plant or algae sample using sequential solvent extraction. The antidermatophytic activity for the extracts was assessed using a colourimetric broth microdilution method. The viability of Vero cells was measured by Neutral Red uptake assay.
RESULTS: All the extracts (except the water extracts of V. amygdalina, C. sertularioides and K. alvarezii) showed antidermatophytic activity against Trichophyton spp. The minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) ranges for the plant extracts against T. rubrum and T. interdigitale are 0.0025-2.50 and 0.005-2.50mg/mL, respectively. The algae extracts exhibited lower potency against both species, showing MFC ranges of 0.08-2.50 and 0.31-2.50mg/mL, respectively. The ethanol and methanol extracts from the leaves of R. excelsa, and the methanol and water extracts from the leaves of S. myrtifolium were highly active (MFC<0.1mg/mL) and with high selectivity indices (SI>2.8) against reference strains of T. rubrum and T. interdigitale, and most of the clinical isolates of T. tonsurans. Phytochemical analysis indicates the presence of alkaloids, anthraquinones, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, phenolics and triterpenoids in the extracts.
CONCLUSIONS: The medicinal plant extracts exhibited stronger antidermatophytic activity compared to the algae extracts. The leaves of R. excelsa and S. myrtifolium are potential sources of new antidermatophytic agents against Trichophyton spp.
METHODS: In this study, the anti-inflammatory effect of the NESTE aqueous extract and raw soybean aqueous extract (SBE) were evaluated by quantifying the inhibition of IL-1β, TNF-α and nitric oxide (NO) secretion in LPS treated RAW 264.7 cell in vitro. On the other hand, in vivo oral acute toxicity effect of the extract was tested on mice at the dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight. In vivo oral analgesic effect of both aqueous extracts at 200 and 1000 mg/kg body weight was evaluated by the hot plate test.
RESULTS: In the in vitro anti-inflammatory study, 5 mg/mL NESTE was able to inhibit 25.50 ± 2.20%, 35.88 ± 3.20% and 28.50 ± 3.50% of NO, IL-1β and TNF-α production in LPS treated RAW 264.7 cells without inducing cytotoxic effect on the cells. However, this effect was lower than 4 μg/mL of curcumin, which inhibited NO, IL-1β and TNF-α production by 89.50 ± 5.00%, 78.80 ± 6.20% and 87.30 ± 4.00%, respectively. In addition, 1.5 to 2.5-fold increase of latency period up to 120 min for mice in the hot plate test was achieved by 1000 mg/kg NESTE. The analgesic effect of NESTE was better than 400 mg/kg of acetyl salicylic acid, which only increased ~ 1.7-fold of latency period up to 90 min. Moreover, NESTE did not show acute toxicity (no LD50) up to 5000 mg/kg body weight.
CONCLUSION: NESTE is a nutritious food ingredient with potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE: The microbial limit test (MLT) studies indicated the suitable dosage of minimum and maximum gamma irradiation for leaf extracts as well as dried leaves of all the tested medicinal plants. Quantitative analysis of total phenolic content (TPC) analysis is based on calorimetric measurements determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent with gallic acid (GA) used as the reference. In vitro cytotoxicity assay by using fibroblast (L929) cell lines was performed on each plant to determine the toxicity effect which sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the positive control. DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl) assay was conducted by using vitamin C and GA as the positive controls to determine the antioxidant property of each plant.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The MLT analysis indicated that the suitable dosage gamma irradiation for leaf extracts was 6-12 kGy and dried leaves were 9-13 kGy. The amount of GA concentration in each plant increased significantly from 30-51 mg GAE g-1 before treatment to 57-103 mg GAE g-1 after treatment with gamma radiation. This showed no significant effect of in vitro cytotoxicity activity before and after treatment with gamma irradiation in this study. Effective concentration (EC50) values of Khaya senegalensis plant reduced significantly (P ≤ 0.005) from 44.510 μg/ml before treatment to 24.691 μg/ml after treatment with gamma radiation, which indicate an increase of free radical scavenging activity.
AIM OF THE STUDY: The present study was designed to investigate the in vitro anti-inflammatory effect of the smoke condensate using cyclooxygenase -1 (COX-1) and -2 (COX-2) as well as its potential genotoxic effects using the bacterial-based Ames test and the mammalian cells-based micronucleus/cytome and comet assays.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: The smoke was prepared in a similar way to that commonly used traditionally by Sudanese women then condensed using a funnel. Cyclooxygenase assay was used to evaluate its in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. The neutral red uptake assay was conducted to determine the range of concentrations in the mammalian cells-based assays. The Ames, cytome and comet assays were used to assess its potential adverse (long-term) effects.
RESULTS: The smoke condensate did not inhibit the cyclooxygenases at the highest concentration tested. All smoke condensate concentrations tested in the Salmonella/microsome assay induced mutation in both TA98 and TA100 in a dose dependent manner. A significant increase in the frequency of micronucleated cells, nucleoplasmic bridges and nuclear buds was observed in the cytome assay as well as in the % DNA damage in the comet assay.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated a dose dependent genotoxic potential of the smoke condensate in the bacterial and human C3A cells and may pose a health risk to women since the smoke bath is frequently practised. The study highlighted the need for further rigorous assessment of the risks associated with the smoke bath practice.
OBJECTIVES: The plant virus Cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) has been innovatively used as a nanoscaffold. Utilization of the internal cavity of empty Virus-Like Particles (VLPs) for the inclusion of therapeutics within the capsid has opened many opportunities in drug delivery and imaging applications.
METHODS: The encapsidation of magnetic materials and anticancer drugs was achieved. SuperscriptCPMV denotes molecules attached to the external surface of CPMV and CPMVSubscript denotes molecules within the interior of the capsid.
RESULTS: Here, the generation of novel VLPs incorporating iron-platinum nanoparticles TCPMVFePt and cisplatin (Cis) (TCPMVCis) is reported. TCPMVCis exhibited a cytotoxic IC50 of TCPMVCis on both A549 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines of 1.8 μM and 3.9 μM, respectively after 72 hours of incubation. The TCPMVFePt were prepared as potential MRI contrast agents.
CONCLUSION: Cisplatin loaded VLP (TCPMVCis) is shown to enhance cisplatin cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines with its potency increased by 2.3-folds.
Objective: To determine the additional relationship between factors discovered by searching for sociodemographic and metastasis factors, as well as treatment outcomes, which could help improve the prediction of the survival rate in cancer patients. Material and Methods. A total of 56 patients were recruited from the ambulatory clinic at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). In this retrospective study, advanced computational statistical modeling techniques were used to evaluate data descriptions of several variables such as treatment, age, and distant metastasis. The R-Studio software and syntax were used to implement and test the hazard ratio. The statistics for each sample were calculated using a combination model that included methods such as bootstrap and multiple linear regression (MLR).
Results: The statistical strategy showed R demonstrates that regression modeling outperforms an R-squared. It demonstrated that when data is partitioned into a training and testing dataset, the hybrid model technique performs better at predicting the outcome. The variable validation was determined using the well-established bootstrap-integrated MLR technique. In this case, three variables are considered: age, treatment, and distant metastases. It is important to note that three things affect the hazard ratio: age (β 1: -0.006423; p < 2e - 16), treatment (β 2: -0.355389; p < 2e - 16), and distant metastasis (β 3: -0.355389; p < 2e - 16). There is a 0.003469102 MSE for the linear model in this scenario.
Conclusion: In this study, a hybrid approach combining bootstrapping and multiple linear regression will be developed and extensively tested. The R syntax for this methodology was designed to ensure that the researcher completely understood the illustration. In this case, a hybrid model demonstrates how this critical conclusion enables us to better understand the utility and relative contribution of the hybrid method to the outcome. The statistical technique used in this study, R, demonstrates that regression modeling outperforms R-squared values of 0.9014 and 0.00882 for the predicted mean squared error, respectively. The conclusion of the study establishes the superiority of the hybrid model technique used in the study.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The Lactobacillus strains tested in this study could be considered good potential probiotic candidates for food/feed industry because of their beneficial functional bioactivities such as good cholesterol-reducing ability, high antioxidant activity, and good and selective cytotoxic effect against cancer cells.