Identification of a novel compound (β-sesquiphellandrene) from turmeric (Curcuma longa) with anticancer potential: comparison with curcumin

Abstract

Considering that as many as 80% of the anticancer drugs have their roots in natural products derived from traditional medicine, we examined compounds other than curcumin from turmeric (Curcuma longa) that could exhibit anticancer potential. Present study describes the isolation and characterization of another turmeric-derived compound, β-sesquiphellandrene (SQP) that exhibits anticancer potential comparable to that of curcumin. We isolated several compounds from turmeric, including SQP, α-curcumene, ar-turmerone, α-turmerone, β-turmerone, and γ-turmerone, only SQP was found to have antiproliferative effects comparable to those of curcumin in human leukemia, multiple myeloma, and colorectal cancer cells. While lack of the NF-κB-p65 protein had no effect on the activity of SQP, lung cancer cells that expressed p53 were more susceptible to the cytotoxic effect of SQP than were cells that lacked p53 expression. SQP was also found to be highly effective in suppressing cancer cell colony formation and inducing apoptosis, as shown by assays of intracellular esterase activity, plasma membrane integrity, and cell-cycle phase. SQP was found to induce cytochrome c release and activate caspases that lead to poly ADP ribose polymerase cleavage. SQP exposure was associated with downregulation of cell survival proteins such cFLIP, Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, c-IAP1, and survivin. Furthermore, SQP was found to be synergistic with the chemotherapeutic agents velcade, thalidomide and capecitabine. Overall, our results indicate that SQP has anticancer potential comparable to that of curcumin.

Assessment of Cytotoxic Activity of Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalisL.), Turmeric (Curcuma longaL.), and Ginger (Zingiber officinaleR.) Essential Oils in Cervical Cancer Cells (HeLa)

“…The studies conducted by Tyagi et al [26] evaluate the anticancer potential of nine compounds from CEO. The authors showed that only the compound β -sesquiphellandrene had strong antiproliferative activity in different tumor cells and also exhibited synergism with chemotherapeutic agents.…”

Curcumin, the golden nutraceutical: multitargeting for multiple chronic diseases

“…Diverse in vivo studies have also indicated its potential against pro‐inflammatory diseases, cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, depression, diabetes, obesity and atherosclerosis (Gupta et al , ). Among the huge number of compounds isolated from turmeric (Tyagi et al , ), curcumin (a diferuloylmethane) was found to be the most widely studied compound as evinced by more than 9000 citations in the literature. It was first discovered by Vogel and Pelletier from the rhizomes of turmeric ( Curcuma longa ) (Prasad et al , ).…”

Terpenes from essential oils and hydrolate ofTeucrium alopecurustriggered apoptotic events dependent on caspases activation and PARP cleavage in human colon cancer cells through decreased protein expressions

“…In a further study on highly malignant glioma cells, Edris [20] evaluated that α-Bisabolol is considered a promising inducer of apoptosis. According to the work of Tyagi et al [40], β-sesquiphellandrene was found to have antiproliferative effects comparable to those of curcumin in human leukemia, multiple myeloma, and colorectal cancer cells. d-limonene, as a constituent of TA-1 in a small amount, is able to inhibit cell proliferation and enhance apoptosis [20].…”