Antitumor Activity of Triterpenoid Saponin-Rich <i>Adisia gigantifolia</i> Extract on Human Breast Adenocarcinoma Cells <i>in Vitro</i> and <i>in Vivo</i>

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore whether the ethanolic extract of Ardisia gigantifolia rhizomes (AGB-5), a traditional herbal medicine from China, could affect the proliferation of human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells in vitro and to explore the antitumor effects of AGB-5 in BALB/c mice engrafted with MCF-7 cells. The results showed that AGB-5 markedly inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells with an IC 50 value of 11.89 1.12 µg/mL, increased the S phase and decreased the G2/M phase without influence on G1 phase. MCF-7 cells treated with AGB-5 presented a dose-dependent increase of apoptosis compared with the control group. AGB-5 also significantly increased the activity of caspase-3 and -9 in a dose-dependent manner in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, in an in vivo model, AGB-5 reduced tumor volume, brought back the red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) count near to normal value, enhanced superoxide dismutase and catalase level of MCF-7 bearing mice. This is the first study to verify the antitumor activity of A. gigantifolia in vivo. The results suggest that AGB-5 may have potential beneficial effects against human breast adenocarcinoma.Key words anticancer; cell cycle arrest; apoptosis; catalase; superoxide dismutase (SOD)Many of the currently used cancer chemotherapy drugs are either directly derived or chemically synthesized active principles of natural products.1) Natural products have proven to be rich sources of leads for compounds with anticancer properties. According to a recent report, 63% of anticancer agents approved between 1981 and 2008 were natural products, natural-product-derived, or natural product-inspired.2) The discovery of novel anticancer agents has progressed considerably in recent years. Compelling data from laboratory studies, epidemiological investigations, and human clinical trials all have demonstrated that saponins have significant potential in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy. 3-7)The dried rhizome of Ardisia gigantifolia STAPF. (Myrsinaceae) is mainly used as Chinese folk medicine in south of China for the treatment of rheumatism, muscle and bone pain, and traumatic injury. A kind of evergreen dwarf shrub, it is distributed in the provinces of Guangxi, Jiangxi, and Fujian in China.8) Previous chemical studies showed that triterpenoid saponins were the main components from this genus. Many triterpenoid saponins have been isolated from the rhizome of A. gigantifolia. 9) We recently isolated a series of new oleanane-type triterpenoid saponins from the rhizome of A. gigantifolia with the former compounds exhibiting cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines. 10-12)The current study is one of the first efforts to verify the antitumor activity of A. gigantifolia using an animal model. Ethanol extract of A. gigantifolia rhizome (AGB-5) was selected for this study because it is rich in active saponins. The present study was designed to explore the mechanisms of the antitumor effects of AGB-5 on the MCF-7 cell line, as well as the antitumor effects of AGB-5 in BALB/...

Cyanidin and peonidin inhibit SPCA-1 growth in vitro via inducing Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis

“…**p < 0.01 compared with negative control, *p < 0.05 compared with negative control NSCLC. Numerous experiments confirmed that active ingredient from natural products such as triterpenoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, saponins, and other active substances could be used to treat malignant tumors and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy (22,23,24,25). Additionally, various studies recently reported that anthocyanins could inhibit cellular transformation and cell-cycle progression, and induced apoptosis in different human cell lines (13,26,27,28).…”