Isolation and Structural Characterization of Bioactive Molecules on Prostate Cancer from Mayan Traditional Medicinal Plants

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men around the world. It is a complex and heterogeneous disease in which androgens and their receptors play a crucial role in the progression and development. The current treatment for prostate cancer is a combination of surgery, hormone therapy, radiation and chemotherapy. Therapeutic agents commonly used in the clinic include steroidal and non-steroidal anti-androgens, such as cyproterone acetate, bicalutamide and enzalutamide. These few agents have multiple adverse effects and are not 100% effective. Several plant compounds and mixtures, including grape seed polyphenol extracts, lycopene and tomato preparations, soy isoflavones, and green tea extracts, have been shown to be effective against prostate cancer cell growth. In vivo activity of some isolated compounds like capsaicin and curcumin was reported in prostate cancer murine models. We prepared a library of plant extracts from traditional Mayan medicine. These plants were selected for their use in the contemporaneous Mayan communities for the treatment of different diseases. The extracts were assessed in a phenotypic screening using LNCaP prostate cancer androgen sensitive cell line, with a fixed dose of 25 μg/mL. MTT assay identified seven out of ten plants with interesting anti-neoplastic activity. Extracts from these plants were subjected to a bioguided fractionation to study their major components. We identified three compounds with anti-neoplastic effects against LNCaP cells, one of which shows selectivity for neoplastic compared to benign cells.

Extracts from Six Native Plants of the Yucatán Peninsula Hinder Mycelial Growth of Fusarium equiseti and F. oxysporum, Pathogens of Capsicum chinense

“…Native to Mexico and Central America, this medicinal tree (syn. Annona depressa , Guatteria gaumeri, Malmea depressa and M. gaumeri ) has a wide range of biological activities in humans, e.g., antifungal, antiproliferative, antiprotozoal, cytotoxic, hypoglycemic and hypocholesterolemic [ 34 , 35 , 36 ]. For agriculture applications, however, a chloroform extract from the stem bark of M. depressa was reported only as a growth inhibitor of Amaranthus hypochondriacus (IC 50 = 134 µg/mL) and Echinochloa crusgalli (IC 50 = 457 µg/mL), and as a fungicide against F. oxysporum (MIC = 400 µg/mL) [ 31 ]; EEs from M. depressa stem and root bark had antifungal activity against Penicillium oxalicum (MIC = 250 µg/mL) [ 37 ].…”

Phytochemicals in Prostate Cancer: From Bioactive Molecules to Upcoming Therapeutic Agents

“…Essential oil from leaves of Anaxagorea brevipes containing β-eudesmol (13.16%), α-eudesmol (13.05%), γ-eudesmol (7.54%), guaiol (5.12%), caryophyllene oxide (4.18%) and β-bisabolene (4.10%) exhibited high antiproliferative activity on prostate cancer cells, PC-3 (IC 50 = 9.6 μg/mL) [115]. Malmea depressa plants revealed cytotoxic activity in LNCaP greater than 50% [123]. A study exhibited that the methanol extract of Xylopia aethiopica has antiproliferative activity in PC-3 and LNCaP cells (IC 50 = 62.1 and 73.6 μg/mL, respectively) at 96 h through apoptosis, lacking anti-angiogenic properties [172].…”

“…Oral administration of 150 mg/kg of QI together with the TP injection in rat protected against TP-induced BPH, as shown by the decrease decreased prostatic levels of DHT and the anti-proliferative and proapoptotic activities of QI [162]. Terminalia catappa also showed anti-proliferative activity in LNCaP with inhibition percentage superior to 50% [123].…”

Antifungal, Antitumoral and Antioxidant Potential of the Danube Delta Nymphaea alba Extracts

“…Compounds of plant origin have been shown to be effective against LNCaP prostate tumor cell growth [40]. However, the active species were identified mainly as fatty acid derivatives.…”