Antitumor Potential of Annona muricata Linn. An Edible and Medicinal Plant in Mexico: In Vitro, In Vivo, and Toxicological Studies

Abstract

Annona muricata (Am) is a plant used in traditional Mexican medicine to treat cancer. In this study, ethanol extracts of Am collected in Acapulco and Tecpan from Guerrero state were evaluated orally on Balb/c mice inoculated with 4T1 cells, for cytotoxic activity (CA) on 4T1 cells, in brine shrimp lethality assay (BSLA), and for acute oral toxicity in mice. In addition, ethanol extracts were subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection. Results showed that the extracts collected in December in Acapulco (AcDe) and Tecpan (TeDe) exhibited the most significant antitumor and cytotoxic activity. In the BSLA, the most important effect was observed in the extracts from Acapulco and Tecpan collected in June (AcJu) and August (TeAg), respectively. The samples from Acapulco (AcJu, and AcAg) and Tecpan (TeJu and TeAg) showed the highest toxicity. The analysis of the extracts, AcDe and TeDe, by HPLC revealed that flavonoids, rutin, narcissin, and nicotinflorin were the major components. These findings suggest that extracts from Am collected in Acapulco and Tecpan in the month of December may be an important source to obtain flavonoid glycosides with anticancer potential specifically against breast cancer. This also supports the use of Am to treat cancer in Mexican traditional medicine.

Understanding the Antilymphoma Activity of Annona macroprophyllata Donn and Its Acyclic Terpenoids: In Vivo, In Vitro, and In Silico Studies

“…Our antilymphoma activity results showed a direct correlation with the in vitro cytotoxic activity of the three terpenoids. In addition, and in line with previous studies, we found a correlation of antilymphoma activity and BSL by obtaining LD 50 values of <10 µg mL −1 for FA and PT, and <100 µg mL −1 for PEAm and MTX which were in line with the Gg and PEAm data reported in our previous study [ 2 , 32 ]. These results confirmed that BSL could be used as a practical, economical, and simple tool for obtaining new antitumor agents isolated from plant extracts.…”

“…Our results showed that Gg (P6), PT (P7) and FA (P10) induced a higher dose-dependent lethality with LD 50 values of <10 µg mL −1 , representing a lethality greater than that of MTX (LD 50 = 24.66 ± 0.27 µg mL −1 ) ( Table 1 ). In line with the findings of previous studies, our results suggested that these molecules might have antitumor potential [ 31 , 32 , 33 ], so we carried out a further investigation of P6, P7 and P10. Later, we characterized P6, P7 and P10 by GC-MS analysis ( Table 2 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 ), focusing on volatile compounds of a terpene nature, since previous studies have reported the presence of acyclic terpenoids in A. macroprophyllata [ 34 ] with antitumor activity [ 2 ].…”

“…The next step in our study involved isolation and purification of the products by preparative thin-layer chromatography starting from PEAm. By this method, we obtained thirteen products which we then subjected to lethality evaluation by means of an BSL assay which has been previously used as a bioindicator in the screening of possible molecules with antitumor potential [ 2 , 31 , 32 ]. Our results showed that Gg (P6), PT (P7) and FA (P10) induced a higher dose-dependent lethality with LD 50 values of <10 µg mL −1 , representing a lethality greater than that of MTX (LD 50 = 24.66 ± 0.27 µg mL −1 ) ( Table 1 ).…”

Antidiabetic and Toxicological Effects of the Tea Infusion of Summer Collection from Annona cherimola Miller Leaves

“…The evaluation of the seriated collections shows that the growth state of the leaves changes the flavonoid concentration; this can modify the antidiabetic effect exerted, being higher in the months when the growth is accentuated. In this sense, phytochemical analysis in other studies has demonstrated that the therapeutic effect and composition of extracts vary greatly depending on the site or season of the collection, even in the same country or in consecutive months [ 11 , 45 ]. Although Ac is considered an evergreen species due to the presence of leaves during almost the whole year, the season could modify the number of metabolites in its extracts [ 46 ].…”

Neuroprotective Capability of Narcissoside in 6-OHDA-Exposed Parkinson’s Disease Models through Enhancing the MiR200a/Nrf-2/GSH Axis and Mediating MAPK/Akt Associated Signaling Pathway

“…The use of special phytochemicals to develop novel anti-oxidative, mitochondrial protection, and anti-apoptotic drugs on DA neurons may achieve the purpose of treating or curing PD. Narcissoside (NCS) ( Figure 1 ) is isolated from Sambucus nigra flowers (elderflowers), and has been reported to have several pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant [ 23 , 24 ], anti-inflammatory activities [ 25 ], anti-SARS-CoV-2 [ 26 ], antihypertensive properties [ 27 ], and antitumor potential [ 28 , 29 ]. It also activates TRPV1 channels in dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons linked with pain-accompanied itch [ 30 ].…”