Network pharmacology-based anti-pancreatic cancer potential of kaempferol and catechin of Trema orientalis L. through computational approach

Exploring the therapeutic efficacy of crocetin in oncology: an evidence-based review

With cancer being a leading cause of death globally, there is an urgent need to improve therapeutic strategies and identify effective chemotherapeutics. This study aims to highlight the potential of crocetin, a natural product derived from certain plants, as an anticancer agent. It was  conducted an extensive review of the existing literature to gather and analyze the most recent data on the chemical properties of crocetin and its observed effects in various in vitro and in vivo studies. The study  particularly focused on studies that examined crocetin's impact on cell cycle dynamics, apoptosis, caspases and antioxidant enzyme levels, tumor angiogenesis, inflammation, and overall tumor growth. Crocetin exhibited diverse anti-tumorigenic activities including inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis induction, angiogenesis suppression, and potentiation of chemotherapy. Multiple cellular and molecular pathways such as the PI3K/Akt, MAPK and NF-κB were modulated by it. Crocetin demonstrates promising anti-cancer properties and offers potential as an adjunctive or alternative therapy in oncology. More large-scale, rigorously designed clinical trials are needed to establish therapeutic protocols and ascertain the comprehensive benefits and safety profile of crocetin in diverse cancer types.

Role of bio-flavonols and their derivatives in improving mitochondrial dysfunctions associated with pancreatic tumorigenesis

Mitochondria, a cellular metabolic center, efficiently fulfill cellular energy needs and regulate crucial metabolic processes, including cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and generation of reactive oxygen species. Alteration in the mitochondrial functions leads to metabolic imbalances and altered extracellular matrix dynamics in the host, utilized by solid tumors like pancreatic cancer (PC) to get energy benefits for fast-growing cancer cells. PC is highly heterogeneous and remains unidentified for a longer time because of its complex pathophysiology, retroperitoneal position, and lack of efficient diagnostic approaches, which is the foremost reason for accounting for the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. PC cells often respond poorly to current therapeutics because of dense stromal barriers in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment, which limit the drug delivery and distribution of antitumor immune cell populations. As an alternative approach, various natural compounds like flavonoids are reported to possess potent antioxidant and anticancerous properties and are less toxic than current chemotherapeutic drugs. Therefore, we aim to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the pharmacological properties of flavonols in PC in this review from the perspective of mitigating mitochondrial dysfunctions associated with cancer cells. Our literature survey indicates that flavonols efficiently regulate cellular metabolism by scavenging reactive oxygen species, mitigating inflammation, and arresting the cell cycle to promote apoptosis in tumor cells via intrinsic mitochondrial pathways. In particular, flavonols proficiently inhibit the cancer-associated proliferation and inflammatory pathways such as EGFR/MAPK, PI3K/Akt, and nuclear factor κB in PC. Overall, this review provides in-depth evidence about the therapeutic potential of flavonols for future anticancer strategies against PC; still, more multidisciplinary human interventional studies are required to dissect their pharmacological effect accurately.

Network pharmacology-based anti-colorectal cancer activity of piperlonguminine in the ethanolic root extract of Piper longum L

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has the second highest incidence and fatality rates of any malignancy, at 10.2 and 9.2%, respectively. Plants and plants-based products for thousands of years have been utilized to treat cancer along with other associated health issues. Alkaloids are a valuable class of chemical compounds with great potential as new medicine possibilities. Piper longum Linn contains various types of alkaloids. In this research, the ethanolic root extract of P. longum (EREPL) is the subject of study based on network pharmacology. Two alkaloids were chosen from the gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. However, only piperlonguminine received preference because it adhered to Lipinski's rule and depicted no toxicity. Web tools which are available online, like, Swiss ADME, pkCSMand ProTox-II were used to evaluate the pharmacokinetics and physiochemical properties of piperlonguminine. The database that SwissTargetPrediction and TCMSP maintain contains the targets for piperlonguminine. Using DisGeNET, GeneCards and Open Targets Platform databases, we were able to identify targets of CRC. The top four hub genes identified by Cytoscape are SRC, MTOR, EZH2, and MAPK3. The participation of hub genes in colorectal cancer-related pathways was examined using the Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database. The colorectal cancer pathway, the ErbB signaling pathway and the mTOR signaling pathway emerged to be important. Our findings show that the hub genes are involved in the aforementioned pathways for tumor growth, which calls for their downregulation. Additionally, piperlonguminine has the potential to become a successful medicine in the future for the treatment of CRC.