Therapeutic Potential of Phytochemicals Isolated from Simarouba glauca DC for Inhibiting Cancers: A Review

Abstract

Simarouba glauca DC (Family: Simaroubaceae, abbreviated as S. glauca / SG), commonly known as 'Laxmitaru' or 'Paradise tree' is an eco-friendly tree that grows in tropical areas of America, The West Indies and Brazil. Nutritionally, SG has been used as a potential source of edible oil. Medicinally, the decoction prepared from SG leaves has been demonstrated to exhibit antitumor, antimalarial, antiviral activities. Objectives: Address various existing gaps in the research on Simarouba glauca and provide future directions to promote address these grey areas. Methods: Literature pertaining to Simarouba glauca and various related plants was collected using PubMed search engine with key words Simarouba glauca, Simaroubaceae, Paradise tree, Laxmitaru. Articles pertaining to anti-cancer activity were filtered and information collected for preparing the review article. Although pharmacological potential of Simarouba glauca is well documented; not much is known about the mechanism(s) of action of the isolated phytoconstituents. In addition, many gaps pertaining to the efficacy of pharmacological agents for inhibiting cancers does exist. Therefore, future studies should focus on (a) screening and isolating key pharmacological agents that exhibit better safety and efficacy profiles for treating cancers; (b) evaluating the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of phytochemicals in experimental animal models; (c) testing the compounds in clinical trials; and (d) developing better strategies to effectively deliver the isolated compounds from SG. Studies are also warranted to determine whether isolated compounds of SG are better or the crude extracts that contain a combination of agents are better. Extensive research is required to address various unanswered questions. Therefore, future studies should focus on providing answers to fill the existing gaps about the utility of Simarouba glauca phytochemicals for treating cancers.

Alpha glucosidase inhibition activity of phenolic fraction from Simarouba glauca: An in-vitro, in-silico and kinetic study

“…Simarouba glauca DC is rain-fed wasteland tree commonly called as ‘Laxmitaru’ or ‘Paradise tree’ belonging to the family Simaroubaceae. Different parts of the plant are being used traditionally as, antifungal, antibacterial, antioxidant ( Osagie-Eweka et al., 2016 ; Santhosh et al., 2016 ; Umesh, 2015 ), antiparasitic, antipyretic and anticancer agents ( Jose et al., 2019 ; Manasi and Gaikwad, 2011 ). The bark extract of this tree is commonly used for dysentery hence the bark is also called ‘dysentery-bark’ ( Santhosh et al., 2016 ; Manasi and Gaikwad, 2011 ).…”

Anti-proliferative potential of phytochemical fractions isolated from Simarouba glauca DC leaf

“…Simaroubaceae family is well known for the presence of quassinoids, which are a class of bitter substances responsible for a variety of biological activities including anticancer activity (Bhatnagar et al, 1984;Monseur and Motte, 1983;Polonsky et al, 1978). To date about 200 quassinoids have been isolated and structures elucidated (Jose et al, 2019). Structurally, quassinoids are the products of oxidative degradation of triterpenes and have been divided in to 5.0 different groups (C18, C19, C20, C22 and C25) based on the number of carbons present in the backbone (Jose et al, 2019).…”

“…To date about 200 quassinoids have been isolated and structures elucidated (Jose et al, 2019). Structurally, quassinoids are the products of oxidative degradation of triterpenes and have been divided in to 5.0 different groups (C18, C19, C20, C22 and C25) based on the number of carbons present in the backbone (Jose et al, 2019). A recent study by Tung et al, (2017) demonstrated the anti-proliferative activity of quassinoids (in particular eurycomanone) isolated from the roots of Eurycoma longifolia against various cancer cell lines.…”

“…The ethanolic extract of Simarouba glacua leaf reported to contain secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds, and exhibit potent anticancer activity against bladder cancer (Puranik et al, 2017). In addition, in a recent review, we have addressed the complexity of phytochemicals present in Simarouba glauca and their anti-cancer potential (Jose et al, 2019). Hence, an attempt was made to extract phytochemical-rich fractions from Simarouba glauca and study the isolated fractions for their anti-cancer potential.…”

“…Reynertson et al (2011) have isolated few compounds from the wood extract of SG and identified them as scopoletin and canthin-6-one and its dimethoxy derivative. It is also evident that SG contains canthin-6-one and its derivatives, limonoid, melianodiol, 14-deacetyleurylene (triterpenoid), scopoletin and fraxidin (coumarin), triolein and trilinolein (triglycerides) (Jose et al, 2019;Rivero-Cruz et al, 2005). Recently, our group has isolated tricaproin from the leaf of SG and reported that tricaproin elicits potent cytotoxic effects in colon and rectum derived cancer cells in vitro.…”