Pristimerin, a Naturally Occurring Triterpenoid, Exerts Potent Anticancer Effect in Colon Cancer Cells

Abstract

Pristimerin is a triterpene compound isolated from plant extracts that reportedly possesses antitumor, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. The current study was designed to evaluate the antitumor effects of pristimerin on human colon cancer cells. Treatment of the human colon cancer cells, HCT116 and SW480, with pristimerin led to a dosedependent decrease in cell proliferation. Flow cytometry experiments showed that pristimerin increased cell apoptotic rate and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential in HCT116 and SW480 cells. Western blot assay showed that pristimerin induced increased cleavage of caspase-3,-7,-8, and poly ADP ribose polymerase. Treatment with pristimerin also caused a marked decrease in the expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Additionally, the levels of phosphorylated AKT and forkhead box O3a (FOXO3a) were decreased in pristimerin-treated colon cancer cells. Taken together, our study illustrated that pristimerin promoted apoptosis via the AKT/FOXO3a signaling pathway in colon cancer cells, elucidating that it might be considered as a potential agent for colon cancer therapy.

One day at a time

“…Since natural compounds are perceived as safer in terms of side effects in comparison to chemical drugs, the interest in using phytochemicals for pharmacological therapeutics has sparked in recent years. A compound that has been drawing attention to it because of its powerful anti-cancer effects is pristimerin, a triterpenoid extracted from Celastracea and Hippocrateaceae [ 26 , 27 ].…”

Optimized and Scalable Green Extraction of Pristimerin, an Anticancerigen from Mortonia greggii, by Ethanol–Phosphate Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

“…Pristimerin is one of the natural triterpenes obtained from plants of Celastraceae family, and its anticancer activity has been tested in several studies. − Previous reports suggest that this triterpene can be extracted using an ethanol–phosphate ATPS with comparable yields and higher purity levels than those obtained in conventional solvent (e.g., hexane) extractions with the advantage of low technical requirements while reducing associated costs and risks related to the use of hazardous constituents. However, the industrial implementation of this process remains a challenge because of the lack of ATPS design parameter exploration that results in a nonstandardized and an industrially unaccepted process.…”