This study aimed to examine the in-vitro anti-cancer potential of ethyl-p-methoxycinnamate (EPMC), the major constituent of Kaempferia galanga (K. galanga) in selected human lung adenocarcinoma cells line A549 (p53 wild-type) and H1299 (p53 null). The involvement of p53 pathway in the anti-cancer effect of EPMC on selected cells was determined using MTT assay and Real-time PCR. The MTT results show that EPMC induces cytotoxicity in a dose- dependent manner in A549 cancer cell lines containing the p53 wild-type gene. Meanwhile, our RT-PCR results indicate that the apoptotic activity of EPMC does not involve the p53 pathway. Overall, these results indicate that EPMC compounds of K. galanga stimulates in vitro cytotoxic and apoptotic activity unrelated to the p53 pathway

Background: Most cervical cancer fatalities have been reported due to drug resistance, invasion, and metastasis. Combination therapy is a prominent technique for overcoming the toxicity of cancer chemotherapy to normal cells, which is mediated across numerous targeted pathways and requires a lower dose of each individual agent. Polyphenolic substances have the potential to improve chemotherapy efficacy while also reducing negative effects. Aims: This study aimed to review the research findings on the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cervical cancer cell HeLa treated with combination therapy. Results: Hydroxyl radicals damage DNA, causing a cascade of structural changes in purine and pyrimidine bases that could lead to mutagenicity. ROS, such as hydroxyl radical (OH- ), superoxide anions (O2 - ), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and peroxyl radicals (ROO- ), are frequent products of aerobic metabolism that can be beneficial or detrimental to the biological system. To combat the harmful effects of ROS, cells have an antioxidative defense system that comprises superoxide dismutases, catalase, glutathione, and other defensive mechanisms. Excessive ROS accumulation causes DNA damage, which triggers the apoptotic machinery, resulting in cell death. Conclusion: Chemotherapeutic medications with phenolic compounds or polyphenol-rich extracts exhibit anticancer synergy. Combination treatment with polyphenols and anticancer drugs is one of the promising approaches in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Adverse effect of conventional chemotherapeutic agent using single anticancer drugs had led to application of combination therapy in cancer treatments. Combination of polyphenolic compounds and anticancer agent was studied and shown promising outcomes in vitro. In cancer treatment, mode of cell death through apoptosis is one of the targeted approaches in many preclinical drug development studies and has been identified as a key mechanism of chemotherapy-induced cell death.    Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the apoptosis event of HeLa cells treated with gallic acid (GA) combined with cisplatin (CIS). HeLa cells were treated for 24,48 and 72 hours with CIS and GA at IC50 (Table 1) concentrations, and the combination of CIS and GA (CIS– GA) was chosen based on a previous study (66.73 percent cell inhibition [1]. To compare the anticancer effects of cisplatin and gallic acid individually and in-combination on apoptosis in HeLa cells, flow cytometry assay was carried out.  According to the findings, during every incubation period, the CIS-GA combination treatment group consistently showed the highest level of antiproliferative activity in HeLa cells, followed by the CIS and GA treatment group. CIS and GA combined treatment response was time-dependent, with an increase in apoptotic cells as incubation time increase (Figure 1). At 72 hours, the combination of CIS and GA treatment showed a significant improvement (74.6%), and improvements were also shown after 24 and 48 hours (56 percent and 60.2 percent). Taken together, these findings suggest that combination therapy enhances the cell death magnitude in HeLa cells. Additionally, these findings have positive implications for the use of a combination therapy approach in cancer treatment.

The anthelmintic resistance has limited the control of gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants and thus has awakened interest in the study of plants extract as a source of anthelmintics. These experiments were carried out to evaluate the in vitro efficacy of Jatrophacurcas latex extract against Haemonchuscontortus larval motility. To evaluate the larvicidal activity, H.contortus L3 were incubated with the extracts with varying concentration of 5 mg/mL, 10 mg/mL, 15 mg/mL and 20 mg/mL at 27°C for 48, 72 and 96 hrs. The results were subjected to the Kruskal-Wallis test (P less than 0.05). The extracts showed dose-dependent larvicidal effects. These results suggest that J.curcas can be used to control gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants.

The key steps in cell metabolism of all organisms are the synthesis of both glutamate and glutamine because they denote the only means of incorporating inorganic nitrogen into carbon backbones. In this study, an assay for the activity of two key enzymes in nitrogen metabolisms such as glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and glutamine synthase (GOGAT) was conducted using homogenates of L3 larvae of Haemonchus contortus. GDH was assayed both in the direction of glutamate utilisation and glutamate formation. GOGAT activity was monitored in the direction of glutamine utilisation. The present result showed that H.contortus had a high Km for ammonia (27.22mM) and glutamine (15.04 mM). The high Km for ammonia suggests a very low affinity for ammonia, meaning that in the reversible amination of 2-oxoglutarate to glutamate, the predominant direction is likely to be glutamate deamination and not the incorporation of ammonia. The activity of GOGAT was also demonstrated but with a high Km, which indicates a low binding affinity of glutamine to the enzyme. Nevertheless, the presence of the two key enzymes of nitrogen metabolism, i.e. GDH and GOGAT, may provide a potential target for anthelmintic action.