Anticancer Activity of Novel Plant Extracts and Compounds from Adenosma bracteosum (Bonati) in Human Lung and Liver Cancer Cells

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, and despite the advances in drug development, it is still necessary to develop new plant-derived medicines. Compared with using conventional chemical drugs to decrease the side effects induced by chemotherapy, natural herbal medicines have many advantages. The present study aimed to discover the potential cytotoxicity of ethanol extract and its derived fractions (chloroform, ethyl acetate, butanol, and aqueous) of Adenosma bracteosum Bonati. (A. bracteosum) on human large cell lung carcinoma (NCI-H460) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2). Among these fractions, the chloroform showed significant activity in the inhibition of proliferation of both cancerous cells because of the presence of bioactive compounds including xanthomicrol, 5,4’-dihydroxy-6,7,8,3’-tetramethoxyflavone, and ursolic acid which were clearly revealed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Coherence, and Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence Spectroscopy) analyses. According to the radical scavenging capacity, the 5,4’-dihydroxy-6,7,8,3’-tetramethoxyflavone compound (AB2) exhibited the highest anticancer activity on both NCI-H460 and HepG2 with IC50 values of 4.57 ± 0.32 and 5.67 ± 0.09 µg/mL respectively, followed by the ursolic acid with the lower percent inhibition at 13.05 ± 0.55 and 10.00 ± 0.16 µg/mL, respectively (p < 0.05). Remarkably, the AB2 compound induced to significant increase in the production of reactive oxygen species accompanied by attenuation of mitochondrial membrane potential, thus inducing the activation of caspase-3 activity in both human lung and liver cancer cells. These results suggest that A. bracteosum is a promising source of useful natural products and AB2 offers opportunities to develop the novel anticancer drugs.

Okra (Abelmoschus Esculentus) as a Potential Dietary Medicine with Nutraceutical Importance for Sustainable Health Applications

“…Cancer is the second-leading cause of death globally, and despite the advances in drug development, it is still necessary to develop new plant-derived medicines. There is an urgent need for new anticancer drugs, because cancerous cells are developing resistances against the currently available drugs, like vinca alkaloids and taxanes [ 56 , 57 ].…”

Anti-Hepatocellular-Cancer Activity Exerted by β-Sitosterol and β-Sitosterol-Glucoside from Indigofera zollingeriana Miq

“…Over several decades, around 200 new chemical compounds have been approved to fight cancer, 50% of which have originally come from natural products and their modifications, which are shown to be safe and have many advantages [ 11 , 12 ]. Plant-based therapy is considered to be a promising source for the development of new chemical compounds with potential bioactivities [ 9 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Along this line, Indigofera zollingeriana Miq is used in traditional medicine for treating various diseases.…”

Cytotoxic Fractions from Hechtia glomerata Extracts and p-Coumaric Acid as MAPK Inhibitors

“…The CHCl 3 /MeOH extract had significant cytotoxicity against PC3 cells (IC 50 = 25 ± 4 µg/mL) and MCF7 cells (IC 50 = 32 ± 2 µg/mL). These extracts had IC 50 values that were lower than, or close to, the threshold of activity that is set by American National Cancer Institute guidelines (IC 50 = 30 µg/mL) [ 16 , 17 ]. Thus, they were considered to have a medium to high cytotoxic effect on the evaluated cell lines.…”