In Vitro Comparison of the Anti-Proliferative Effects of Galenia africana on Human Skin Cell Lines

Abstract

Malignant melanoma is the major cause of skin cancer-related deaths. Surgery in combination with radiotherapy, immunotherapy or chemotherapy is used to eradicate cancer cells, however, this treatment option is limited by the tolerance of the surrounding healthy tissue. The extracts from Galenia africana have been shown to possess anti-cancer flavonoid compounds and can be a safer and cost-effective alternative treatment. The study aimed to compare the anti-proliferative effects of G. africana on human skin cells (HaCaT) and human malignant melanoma cells (A375). The cells were exposed to various concentrations of the G. africana extract at different times. In vitro assays were employed to determine cell viability and cytotoxicity. Hoechst 33342 staining was performed to observe the nuclear changes, including apoptosis. G. africana significantly reduced the cell viability of the A375 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner, while having no effect on the HaCaT cells. The A375 cells displayed nuclear condensation, brightly stained nuclei and nuclear fragmentation indicative of apoptosis. This suggests a clinical rationale for the use of G. africana as a potential anti-melanoma agent offering efficacy and low toxicity. This study provides new insights for future work on investigating the utilization of G. africana in malignant melanoma treatment.

Anti-Proliferative, Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Properties of the Methanolic Extracts of Five Saudi Arabian Flora with Folkloric Medicinal Use: Aizoon canariense, Citrullus colocynthis, Maerua crassifolia, Rhazya stricta and Tribulus macropterus

“…Following the collection and extraction process, the HaCaT cell line was utilised to evaluate the anti-proliferative and cytotoxic activity of five plant extracts by the MTT assay followed by FACS analysis with the PI/FD double staining method and qualitative confirmation of viable and non-viable cells with confocal microscopy. Natural products are a source of potential new anti-cancer drugs [42][43][44]. Herein, the results demonstrated that C. colocynthis possesses anti-proliferative activity against HaCaT cells, since it showed a significant decrease in cell proliferation from 24 h onwards, while R. stricta showed a delayed but significant inhibition of cell growth at 120 and 168 h. The IC50 values were determined for both plant extracts for C. colocynthis, with 17.32 and 16.91…”

“…This verifies that the growth inhibition observed in the MTT assay is attributed to the toxicity of C. colocynthis towards HaCaT cells rather than cell death. HaCaT cells have been used previously as a model to determine the cytotoxicity of plant extracts [44]. R. stricta demonstrated significant toxicity towards HaCaT cells at the highest concentration of 200 μg/mL after 24 h. Images taken by CSLM through the PI/FD double staining procedure served as a quantitative confirmation of the viability and cytotoxicity assay, as it revealed extreme morphological changes of HaCaT cells treated with C. colocynthis.…”

Inhibitory Effects of Selected Medicinal Plants on Bacterial Growth of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

“…The cytotoxicity of samples was determined using the trypan blue exclusion method according to Ndlovu et al [36] with slight modifications. The cells were seeded at a density of 5 × 10 4 cells/well in 24-well microplates and grown to attachment overnight.…”

Phytochemical Profile and Anticancer Activity from Medicinal Plants Against Melanoma Skin Cancer: A Review

“…G. africana has been used traditionally in the form of pastes, decoctions, and lotions to treat wounds and other skin-related ailments (Ndlovu et al, 2021;Heredia et al, 2022). The bioassay-guided fractionation of the EtOH extract of the leaves of Galenia africana led to the isolation of three known flavonoids, (2S)-5,7,2'-trihydroxyflavanone, (E)-3,2',4'-trihydroxychalcone, and (E)-2',4'dihydroxychalcone, and the new (E)-3,2',4'trihydroxy-3'-methoxychalcone (Mativandlela et al, 2009).…”

“…Meanwhile, it was also tested with normal cells, and the results did not affect HaCaT cells. A375 cells after treatment showed nuclear condensation, brightly colored nuclei, and nuclear fragmentation, indicating apoptosis (Ndlovu et al, 2021).…”