Terfezia boudieri: A Desert Truffle With Anticancer and Immunomodulatory Activities

Abstract

Desert truffles have high nutritional value and grow wild in the Mediterranean basin and Western Asia. Although, many studies were performed to evaluate truffles nutritious values and phytochemical composition, studies are limited to evaluate their anticancer and/ or immunomodulatory effects. Our study was conducted to evaluate the anticancer and immunomodulatory effects of Terfezia boudieri (desert truffle). Different solvent extracts were prepared from the truffle and MTT assay was used to measure their anticancer activity against cancer cell lines (T47D, MCF-7, MDA-MB231, HCT-116, and Hela). Total phenolic content in each extract was determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and qualitative phytochemical screening was performed using standard methods. The degree of apoptosis induction (using caspase 3 assay) and vascular endothelial growth factor expression were detected using standard kits. Also, ELISA was used to measure levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-4, and IL-10 secreted by splenocytes after treatment with the extracts. The effect of the extracts on splenocytes proliferation was measured using MTT assay. Macrophage function was evaluated using nitro blue tetrazolium assay and pinocytosis function was evaluated using neutral red method. Terpenoids, phytosterols, and carbohydrates were present in all the solvent extracts, while tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids were detected only in aqueous/methanol and aqueous extracts. The highest total phenolic content was observed in aqueous and aqueous methanol extracts. The growth of cancer cell lines was inhibited by T. boudieri extracts in a dose dependent manner. N-hexane extract was the most potent against most cell lines. Aqueous/methanol extract showed high apoptosis induction and angiogenesis suppression effects. An increase in TH1 cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-2) level and a decrease in TH2 cytokine (IL-4) level were evident after lymphocytes stimulation by aqueous/methanol, n-hexane and ethyl acetate extracts of T. boudieri. Ethyl acetate extract of T. boudieri were the most potent extracts to stimulate lymphocytes proliferation while all other extracts showed moderate stimulation. Aqueous/methanol extract was the most active extract to stimulate phagocytosis. Ethyl acetate extract was the most active extract to stimulate pinocytosis. The use of T. boudieri provides variable health benefits. N-hexane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous/methanol extracts exhibited anticancer activities and are potent stimulators of innate and acquired immunity. Further testing is needed to identify the biologically active compounds and detect them quantitatively using GC-MS analysis.

Immunomodulatory and Anticancer Activities of Hyacinthus orientalis L.: An In Vitro and In Vivo Study

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The Impact of the Food Additive E407a on the Metabolic Activity of Different Cell Cultures

“…Спленоциты получали из селезенки животных по методу, описанному ранее [10,11]. Для этого селезенку удаляли, паренхиму осторожно отделяли от капсулы, фрагментировали, фильтровали через клеточный фильтр с размерами пор 100 мкм.…”

Mycochemical composition and insecticidal bioactivity of Algerian desert truffles extract against two stored-product insects: Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae)

“…This fungal species is highly appreciated by several populations due to its high nutritional value (Bouzadi et al 2017;Vahdani et al 2017;Akyüz and Kirbag 2018) and its excellent medicinal properties. Several studies have demonstrated these therapeutic vertues, such as antimicrobial activity (Neggaz and Fortas 2013;Schillaci et al 2017;Malik et al 2018;Harir et al 2019), anticarcinogenic activity (Attia et al 2018;Dahham et al 2018;Al Obaydi et al 2020), and antioxidant activity (Al-Laith 2010; Dogan and Aydin 2013;Gouzi et al 2013;Hamza et al 2016;Neggaz et al 2018).…”