The Sechium edule Perla Negra cultivar is a recently-obtained biological material whose progenitors are S. edule var. nigrum minor and S. edule var. amarus silvestrys, the latter of which has been reported to have antiproliferative activity against the HeLa P-388 and L-929 cancer cell lines. The present study aimed to determine if the methanolic extract of the fruit of the Perla Negra cultivar had the same biological activity. The methanolic extract was phytochemically characterized by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and column chromatography (CC), identifying the terpenes and flavonoids. The compounds identified via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were Cucurbitacins B, D, E, and I for the terpene fractions, and Rutin, Phlorizidin, Myricetin, Quercetin, Naringenin, Phloretin, Apigenin, and Galangin for the flavonoid fractions). Biological activity was evaluated with different concentrations of the methanolic extract in the HeLa cell line and normal lymphocytes. The methanolic extract inhibited the proliferation of HeLa cells (IC50 1.85 µg·mL−1), but the lymphocytes were affected by the extract (IC50 30.04 µg·mL−1). Some fractions, and the pool of all of them, showed inhibition higher than 80% at a concentration of 2.11 µg·mL−1. Therefore, the biological effect shown by the methanolic extract of the Perla Negra has some specificity in inhibiting tumor cells and not normal cells; an unusual feature among molecules investigated as potential biomedical agents.

RESUMENSe analiza y describe la morfología de la fase sexual de Polypodium colpodes Kunze, P. arcanum Maxon var. bakerii (Daven.) Mickel et Tejero y Phlebodium inaequale T. Moore. Se trata de especies epífitas obligadas las dos últimas y facultativa la primera. Los tres taxones comunes en las montañas de México, se recolectaron en la sierra de Igualatlaco en el estado de Guerrero, México. Las esporas de cada especie se sembraron en frascos de vidrio con sustratos naturales, uno de ellos a base de fibra de maquique (Cyathea sp.) y otro en tierra de hoja. La germinación de los tres taxones fue de tipo Vittaria; el desarrollo del gametófito tipo Drynaria en maquique para las tres especies y tipo Drynaria y Adiantum para P. colpodes y P. arcanum en tierra de hoja. Ph. inaequale no prosperó en este sustrato.En las especies y los sustratos se presentaron diversas formas de los gametófitos. El desarrollo de los arquegonios se pudo observar en las tres especies, mientras que los anteridios sólo se apreciaron en Ph. inaequale (maquique). El desarrollo de los gametófitos de P. arcanum var. bakerii comenzó a los 177 días en maquique y a los 77 días en tierra. En Ph. inaequale se observaron los prótalos a los 366 días en maquique y en tierra de hoja no se desarrolló. El ciclo en P. colpodes desde la formación de las primeras fases de la germinación hasta el esporófito en maquique tardó 331 días y en tierra 270, los esporófitos en P. colpodes fueron abundantes en tierra y escasos en maquique. En las tres especies se presentó un desarrollo asexual de los gametófitos. Se discuten aspectos ecológicos de las diferencias en el desarrollo.

IntroductionCervical cancer is a worldwide health problem due to the number of deaths caused by this neoplasm. In particular, in 2020, 30,000 deaths of this type of tumor were reported in Latin America. Treatments used to manage patients diagnosed in the early stages have excellent results as measured by different clinical outcomes. Existing first-line treatments are not enough to avoid cancer recurrence, progression, or metastasis in locally advanced and advanced stages. Therefore, there is a need to continue with the proposal of new therapies. Drug repositioning is a strategy to explore known medicines as treatments for other diseases. In this scenario, drugs used in other pathologies that have antitumor activity, such as metformin and sodium oxamate, are analyzed.MethodsIn this research, we combined the drugs metformin and sodium oxamate with doxorubicin (named triple therapy or TT) based on their mechanism of action and previous investigation of our group against three CC cell lines.ResultsThrough flow cytometry, Western blot, and protein microarray experiments, we found TT-induced apoptosis on HeLa, CaSki, and SiHa through the caspase 3 intrinsic pathway, including the critical proapoptotic proteins BAD, BAX, cytochrome-C, and p21. In addition, mTOR and S6K phosphorylated proteins were inhibited in the three cell lines. Also, we show an anti-migratory activity of the TT, suggesting other targets of the drug combination in the late CC stages.DiscussionThese results, together with our former studies, conclude that TT inhibits the mTOR pathway leading to cell death by apoptosis. Our work provides new evidence of TT against cervical cancer as a promising antineoplastic therapy.

Microencapsulation is a technique used in pharmaceuticals as an administration vehicle. Encapsulating secondary metabolites for therapeutic purposes has been promoted recently. Microencapsulation based on chitosan was developed for the methanol extract of cv. Perla negra (S. edule (Jacq.) Sw.) (Cucurbitaceae) fruits to evaluate its viability as an administration vehicle and to assess the possible negative interaction between the extract and chitosan. Microencapsulation was performed by coacervation, implementing a method with constant sonication. The microparticles obtained were registered by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy. The presence of the bioactive in aqueous medium was recorded for release tests, measuring with spectrophotometry its concentration as a function of time. The assessment of the biological effect of the microencapsulated extract was done on the HeLa cell line and control cells (lymphocytes). Microspheres with an average size of 20 µm and a loading capacity of 98% were obtained. The highest concentration of released extract was 24 µg mL−1 at 23 h. The mainly chitosan-based microspheres did not affect the antiproliferative activity of the extract of cv. Perla negra and proved to be a potential vehicle for its therapeutic administration. The empty microspheres made with chitosan also showed to have an antiproliferative effect, and those loaded with extract showed cellular inhibition (statistical IC50) of 8 µg mL−1 without affecting the lymphocytes. Chitosan does not interfere with the biological activity of the metabolites incorporated into the microspheres since they retain their inhibitory activity on proliferation in tumor cells, thus constituting a potential vehicle for the therapeutic administration of fruit extract.

In developing countries, the risk of getting sick from eating food contaminated with Escherichia coli is very high. As a consequence of the multidrug resistance of this bacterium, a therapeutic alternative has been sought in the plant kingdom. The Objective of this research was to evaluate the antibacterial effect of pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) essential oil (EO) on the growth of E. coli. Design/Methodology/Approach: The antibacterial activity was determined using a Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility test. A 90 to 60% dilution of EO generated 24 to 22 mm halos. The EA was subjected to a GC/MS analysis. The results showed that cadinene (53.8%) was the main constituent, followed by germacrene (22.5%). The minimum inhibitory concentration was 7 μg mL-1. Findings/Conclusions: C. officinalis EO can be considered as an option in the treatment against this enterobacteria.