Anti-proliferative activities of Byrsocarpus coccineus Schum. and Thonn. (Connaraceae) using Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Background: Ovarian cancer (OvCa) is one of the most lethal tumors of gynecologic malignancies, due to lack of early detection, and a high rate of metastasis. The standard treatment for OvCa is surgery and cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, to overcome the high cost and side effects of these treatments, medicinal plants are widely used in developing countries to treat OvCa. Byrsocarpus coccineus plant preparation has been administered to patients traditionally in the management of tumors in Nigeria. In this study, we investigated the anti-proliferative effects of B. coccineus ethanol leaf extract against OVCAR-3 and SW 626 OvCa cell lines. After the treatment of the two cell lines with the extracts, analyses were carried out to determine inhibition of proliferation and expression of cell cycle markers, pro-apoptotic, and anti-apoptotic markers. Results: Results showed that B. coccineus ethanol leaf extract, significantly inhibited cell migration and colony formation in OVCAR-3 and SW 626 treated cells in a dose-dependent manner. Results also show that B. coccineus ethanol leaf extract modulated the expression of tumor suppressor gene (p53), cell cycle progression, pro- and anti-apoptotic gene, and the pro-inflammatory cytokines. Conclusions: These results suggest that B. coccineus have anti-proliferative properties and could induce apoptosis. Further investigation will be carried out to isolate bioactive compounds for the treatment of ovarian cancer.</jats:p>

Effects of Rourea coccinea ethanolic root extract on ovalbumin-induced allergic asthma in rats

“…& Thonn, which belongs to the family of Connaraceae, is widely used traditionally to treat inflammation related deseases. Many studies have shown that leaf extract of B. coccineus has hepatoprotective [15], antioxidant [15,16,17] and anti-proliferative effects [18]. In our previous study, ethanolic extract root bark of Rourea coccinea (EERc) was found to possess anti-inflammatory property [19] and antioxidant activity [20] but the underlying mechanism of these properties is unknown.…”