Therapeutic Mechanisms of Vernonia amygdalina Delile in the Treatment of Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Prostate cancer patients have been suffering from limited treatment options due to late diagnosis, poor drug tolerance, and multi-drug resistance to almost all the current drug treatments. Therefore, it is important to seek a new alternative therapeutic medicine that can effectively prevent the disease and even eradicate the progression and metastasis of prostate cancer. Vernonia amygdalina Delile (VAD) is a common edible vegetable in Cameroon that has been used as a traditional medicine for some human diseases. However, to the best of our knowledge, no previous reports have explored its therapeutic efficacy against human prostate cancer. The objective of the present study was to assess the anticancer activities of VAD methanolic extracts in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer using human androgen-independent prostate cancer (PC-3) cells as a test model. To achieve our objective, PC-3 cells were treated with various doses of VAD for 48 h. Data generated from the trypan blue test and MTT assay demonstrated that VAD extracts exhibited significant growth-inhibitory effects on PC-3 cells. Collectively, we established for the first time the antiproliferative effects of VAD on PC-3 cells, with an IC50 value of about 196.6 μg/mL. Further experiments, including cell morphology, lipid peroxidation and comet assays, and apoptosis analysis showed that VAD caused growth-inhibitory effects on PC-3 cells through the induction of cell growth arrest, DNA damage, apoptosis, and necrosis in vitro and may provide protection from oxidative stress diseases as a result of its high antioxidant content. These results provide useful data on the anticancer activities of VAD for prostate cancer and demonstrate the novel possibilities of this medicinal plant for developing prostate cancer therapies.

The Lipid Lowering and Cardioprotective Effects of Vernonia calvoana Ethanol Extract in Acetaminophen-Treated Rats

“…Our finding is in agreement with the hypolipidemic effect of V. calvoana extracts in a diabetic rat model as reported by Iwara et al [ 9 ] which implicated flavonoids and other bioactive principles for the effects. They are also in agreement with the report of Johnson et al [ 25 ] where V. amygdalina decreased levels of MDA and prevented peroxidation of lipids in PC-3 cells.…”

Novel Cellular Staining Protocol And Antiproliferative Effect Of Vernonia Amygdalina Delile On Lung And Prostate Cancer Cells

“…The preparation of Vernonia Amygdalina Delile (VAD) extract was done in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Jackson State University as previously described 5 .…”

“…Interestingly, the number of people who use complementary and alternative therapies continues to grow in the United States and other developed countries 2,3,4 . Over the past decade, the use of VAD either as food or as chemopreventive agent against cancer prevention and/or treatment has received increasing attention 5,6 . VAD is commonly called bitter leaf in English.…”

Zoopharmacology: A Way to Discover New Cancer Treatments

“…Particularly, the secondary metabolites present in this plant, such as sesquiterpene lactones (e.g.,: Vernodaline) and steroid glucosides (e.g.,: Vernioside) have shown anthelmintic, antiamoebic, anticancer (inhibition of tumor promotion), immunosuppressive and antibiotic activities [ 15 , 16 ]. Nowadays, it is continued studying the possible therapeutic application and mechanisms (mainly apoptotic) of this extract to the treatment of prostate [ 24 ], neuroblastoma [ 25 ], and breast cancer, showing in the latter case a synergistic effect in combination with doxorubicin [ 26 ]. Besides, other species from the same Genus gather interesting chemical structures with prospective antitumoral activities [ 27 ].…”