Antirrhinum majus L. flower extract inhibits cell growth and metastatic properties in human colon and lung cancer cell lines

Antioxidant activities of thermally treated Sesamum indicum L. leaf extracts and their inhibitory effects against growth and metastatic properties of human colon cancer cells

The study aimed to investigate antioxidant activities of two different thermally treated sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) leaf ethanol extract, steamed sesame leaf extract (SSLE) and roasted sesame leaf extract (RSLE), and their inhibitory effects on uncontrolled growth and increased metastatic properties in human colon cancer cell lines. Both SSLE and RSLE contained pedaliin as the major polyphenol and its aglycon, pedalitin, as a minor component and exhibited radical scavenging activities and ferric reducing antioxidant power. SSLE and RSLE decreased growth of HT29 and HCT116 colon cancer cells, which was attributed to the induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at either G2/M (by SSLE in HCT116) or S phase (by RSLE in HCT116). Furthermore, SSLE and RSLE inhibited migration and adhesion in both cell lines. These results indicate that thermally treated sesame leaves retained pedaliin content and exhibited antioxidant activities and inhibitory activities against the growth and metastatic properties of colon cancer cells.

GC-MS Analysis of Bioactive Compounds in Methanolic Extracts of Papaver decaisnei and Determination of Its Antioxidants and Anticancer Activities

The Papaver L. plant (Papaver decaisnei) has ethnobotanical records in many countries including Iraqi Kurdistan. The current study investigates the methanol (99.9%) extracts (10 μg/mL) of roots, leaves, and flowers of Papaver decaisnei in terms of phytochemistry by gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry GC-MS, in vitro antioxidant activity by radical scavenging and reducing power assays, and finally, the anticancer actions as IC50 (inhibitory concentration at 50%) against human colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2), mammary cancer cells (MCF-7), and human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells. The results showed 22, 19, and 17 chemicals for roots, leaves, and flowers of P. decaisnei, respectively. The prevalent organic compounds of P. decaisnei were alkaloids (62.03%), phenolics (55.43%), fatty acids (42.51%), esters (32.08%), terpenoids (25.59%), and phytosterols (15.68%), namely, roemerine (70.44%), 9,12,15-octadecatrien-1-ol (37.45%), hexadecanoic acid (33.72%), decarbomethoxytabersonine (24.49%), and γ-sitosterol (11.22%). The antioxidant activity of plant organs was within 39.1–143.5 μg/mL for DPPH, 135.4–276.4 μg/mL for ABTS, 12.4–34.3 μg/mL for FRAP, and 42.6–75.8 μg/mL for CUPRAC assays. The anticancer of P. decaisnei was found as 125.3–388.4 μg/mL against all tested cell lines (Caco-2, MCF-7, and HeLa). The detected alkaloids and bioactivity of P. decaisnei encourage future isolation of those remarkable alkaloids (reomerine) for potential usage in the pharmaceutical industry.

The combination of R2R3-MYB gene AmRosea1 and hairy root culture is a useful tool for rapidly induction and production of anthocyanins in Antirrhinum majus L

Anthocyanins are the largest group of water-soluble pigments and beneficial for human health. Although most plants roots have the potential to express natural biosynthesis pathways required to produce specialized metabolites such as anthocyanins, the anthocyanin synthesis is specifically silenced in roots. To explore the molecular mechanism of absence and production ability of anthocyanin in the roots, investigated the effect of a bHLH gene AmDelila, and an R2R3-MYB gene AmRosea1, which are the master regulators of anthocyanin biosynthesis in Antirrhinum majus flowers, by expressing these genes in transformed hairy roots of A. majus. Co-ectopic expression of both AmDelila and AmRosea1 significantly upregulated the expression of the key target structural genes in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway. Furthermore, this resulted in strongly enhanced anthocyanin accumulation in transformed hairy roots. Ectopic expression of AmDelila alone did not gives rise to any significant anthocyanin accumulation, however, ectopic expression of AmRosea1 alone clearly upregulated expression of the main structural genes as well as greatly promoted anthocyanin accumulation in transformed hairy roots, where the contents reached 0.773–2.064 mg/g fresh weight. These results suggest that AmRosea1 plays a key role in the regulatory network in controlling the initiation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in roots, and the combination of AmRosea1 and hairy root culture is a powerful tool to study and production of anthocyanins in the roots of A. majus.

In Vitro Antioxidant and Anti-Colon Cancer Activities of Sesamum indicum L. Leaf Extract and Its Major Component, Pedaliin

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) leaves (SLs) are used as vegetables and traditional medicines in Asian and African countries. We investigated in vitro antioxidant and anti-colon cancer efficacy of ethanol extract of SL (SLE) and its major bioactive component. SLE contained appreciable amount of major classes of antioxidant phytochemicals, such as total polyphenols, total flavonoids, and carotenoids, and correspondingly exhibited antioxidant activities, such as radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). A cell viability assay showed that SLE time- and dose-dependently attenuated the growth of human colon cancer cells, HT29 and HCT116. Flow cytometry analysis showed that SLE increased sub-G1 (in HT29 and HCT116) and G2/M (in HCT116) cell populations, suggesting that the growth inhibition by SLE was due to induction of apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest. Trans-well and wound-healing assays showed that SLE alleviated invasion and migration of HT29 and HCT116 cells in non-cytotoxic conditions. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that pedaliin (6-hydroxylueolin 7-methyl ether 6-glucoside; pedalitin-6-O-glucoside) was a major constituent of SLE. Moreover, FRAP, growth-inhibitory, anti-invasive, and anti-migratory activities of pedaliin were found. These results demonstrated that SLE possesses in vitro antioxidant and anti-colon cancer activities and that pedaliin is a major component contributing to such activities.