BackgroundNardostachys jatamansi DC is a Himalayan medicinal herb that has been described in various traditional systems of medicine for its use in cancer. In view of its traditional claims, and chemical constituents, antioxidant and anticancer activities were evaluated in breast carcinoma.MethodsPetroleum ether (NJPE), methanol extract (NJM) and subsequent diethyl ether (NJDE), ethyl acetate (NJEA) and aqueous (NJAQ) fractions of roots and rhizomes of N. jatamansi were prepared. Total phenolic, flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities were determined using suitable methods. Antiproliferative activity was assessed in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (MCF-7) and ER-negative breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-231) cells by MTT and SRB assay. Cell cycle analysis, Hoechst staining, and clonogenic assay were employed to determine the mode of antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic activity in MDA-MB-231 cells.ResultsNJM/fractions exhibited prominent antioxidant activity with significant correlation between phenolic content and ABTS (IC50) scavenging (R = −0.9680, P < 0.05), and total antioxidant capacity (R = 0.8396, P > 0.05). In MTT assay, NJM exhibited the highest antiproliferative activity (IC50: 58.01 ± 6.13 and 23.83 ± 0.69 μg/mL in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 respectively). Among the fractions, NJPE and NJDE were found to be most potent in MCF-7 (IC50: 60.59 ± 4.78 μg/mL) and MDA-MB-231 (IC50: 25.04 ± 0.90 μg/mL) cells respectively. Statistical analyses revealed NJM and NJDE exhibited significantly higher (P < 0.05) cytotoxicity in MDA-MB-231 cells. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that NJM, NJPE and NJEA caused G2/M arrest while NJDE caused G0/G1 phase arrest in MDA-MB-231 cells. Further, NJM/fractions induced significant (P < 0.001) cell death by apoptosis characterized by apoptotic morphological changes in Hoechst staining and inhibited long-term proliferation (P < 0.001) of MDA-MB-231 cells in clonogenic assay. Lupeol and β-sitosterol were identified as anticancer principles in NJM/fractions by HPTLC.ConclusionOur results suggest that NJM/fractions possess significant antiproliferative potential which is mediated through cell cycle perturbation and pro-apoptotic effects in MDA-MB-231 cells. Moreover, this study highlights the antioxidant potential of NJM/fractions which can be attributed to the presence of phenols. NJDE emerged as the most potent fraction and further mechanistic and phytochemical investigations are under way to identify the active principles.

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Insulin is a cytokine which promotes cell growth. Recently, a few published reports on insulin in different cell lines support the antiapoptotic effect of insulin. But the reports fail to explain the role of insulin in modulating glutamate-mediated neuronal cell death through excitotoxicity. Thus, we examined the neuroprotective effect of insulin on glutamate-induced toxicity on differentiated SH-SY5Y neuronal cells. Changes in cell viability were measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) based assay, while apoptotic damage was detected by acridine orange/ethidium bromide and Hoechst staining. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and morphological alterations were also measured. Treatment with glutamate induced apoptosis, elevated ROS levels and caused damage to neurons. Insulin was able to attenuate the glutamate-induced excitotoxic damage to neuronal cells.

Incorporating the phytosomal form of silymarin in liposomal carrier system increased the oral bioavailability and showed better hepatoprotection and better anti-inflammatory effects compared with silymarin suspension.

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