Evaluation by microarray of the potential safety of Sarracenia purpurea L. (Sarraceniaceae) a traditional medicine used by the Cree of Eeyou Istchee

Abstract

-Purpose:The purpose of this study was to assess safety of the traditional antidiabetic extracts of either S. purpurea or its lead active principle, morroniside at the transcriptional level. The overarching objective was to profile and validate transcriptional changes in the cytochrome P450 family of genes, in response to treatment with S. purpurea ethanolic extract or its lead active, morroniside. Methods: Transcriptional activity was profiled using a 19K human cDNA microarray in C2BBe1 cells, clone of Caco-2 intestinal cells, which are a model of first-pass metabolism (1, 2). Cells were treated with S. purpurea extract for 4 and 24 hrs, as well as the pure compound morroniside for 4 hrs, to determine their effects. Results: No evidence of cytochrome P450 transcriptome regulation or of transcriptional activation of other diabetes relevant mRNA was detected after rigorous quantitative-PCR validation of microarray results. Conclusion: Our data do not support a transcriptional mechanism of action for either S. purpurea extract or its lead active, morroniside.

Morroniside regulates hair growth and cycle transition via activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

“…officinalis , which is a food and medical plant classified by the Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China and has been widely used clinically for thousands of years 37 . Moreover, morroniside, as a plant extract, did not alter xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes and transporters 38 . In addition, previous studies have shown that morroniside has no toxicity in various cell types and no obvious adverse effects in animals 37 , 39 .…”

“…Third, morroniside is cheap and could be easily produced. This compound is extracted and purified from Corni Fructus , which is planted in large quantities 38 . The extraction and purification process has been developed, and morroniside purity was determined to be 98.5% through high-performance liquid chromatography 40 .…”