Identification of an anticancer compound contained in seeds of Maesa lanceolata, a medicinal plant in Ethiopia

Evaluation of Anti-Diarrheal Activities of the 80% Methanol Extract and Solvent Fractions of Maesa lanceolata Forssk (Myrsinaceae) Leaves in Mice

Background

Due to the limits of present antidiarrheal medications, it is critical to seek novel, safe, and inexpensive antidiarrheal agents. Thus, the goal of this study was to assess the antidiarrheal activity of 80% methanol crude extract and solvent fractions of Maesa lanceolata leaves in mice.

Methods

Leaf powder was extracted by 80% methanol and then fractionated with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and distilled water. At 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg, the effects of the crude extract on castor oil-induced diarrhea, enteropooling, and gastrointestinal motility tests were investigated. Tween 2% and atropine used as negative and positive controls, respectively. A gastrointestinal motility test was used to explore the anti-motility effects. Data were analyzed with SPSS V. 26, and the significance was established with a one-way ANOVA followed by a post hoc Tukey's test.

Results

The crude extract delayed the onset of diarrhea and significantly reduced the number of fecal drops at 100 (p<0.05), 200 and 400 mg/kg (p<0.001). Similarly, the number and weight of wet feces, as well as total fresh feces, were reduced at 200 (p<0.05) and 400 mg/kg (p<0.001) compared to Tween 2%. The enteropooling test demonstrated that the extracts significantly reduced the volume and weight of intestine content at 200 (p<0.05) and 400 mg/kg (p<0.001). The anti-motility activity test revealed that the all extracts decreased gastrointestinal motility significantly (p<0.001). The ethyl acetate fraction significantly reduced gastrointestinal transit time at all doses (p<0.001). At 400 mg/kg, the activities of the n-hexane fraction were significant (p<0.01). The efficacy of the residual aqueous fraction on gastrointestinal motility was significant at 200 (p<0.05) and 400 mg/kg (p<0.001).

Conclusion

The 80% methanol extract of Maesa lanceolata Forssk leaf and solvent fractions were shown to exhibit potent antidiarrheal activity in the current study.

Suppressive, Curative, and Prophylactic Effects of Maesa lanceolata Forssk. against Rodent Malaria Parasite Plasmodium berghei

The artemisinin partial resistance is believed to be spread to artemisinin-based combination therapy partner drugs. As a result, new antiplasmodial compounds are required to treat resistant malaria infections. In the invention of antimalarial substances, claimed medical plants are precious resources. So, the current study was designed to assess the antiplasmodial effects of Maesa lanceolata in mice. In this study, preliminary phytoconstituent and in vivo acute oral toxicity tests were done. Early infection, established infection, and residual infection tests were employed to determine the antimalarial effects of the test drugs. Three doses (200, 400, and 600 mg/kg) of the extracts were provided orally to the test mice. Analysis of variance (one-way) followed by post hoc Tukey's test was used to analyze the difference between and within groups. Terpenoids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids, and alkaloids were detected in the phytochemical constituent analysis. Both 80% methanolic crude extract and solvent fractions had no toxic result at the 2000 mg/kg dose. All test drug doses suppressed parasite levels in a significant manner at all tests. The activity of chloroform fraction (maximum percentage suppression, 81.28%) overwhelms the crude extract activity. The curative effects of 80% methanolic crude extract, with a maximum of 80.22% parasitemia suppression, were greater than its suppressive and prophylactic effects. The 400 mg/kg dose of chloroform fraction resulted in a maximum survival period (18 days) than other doses of tested materials. The results of this investigation provide support for the activity of M. lanceolata leaf extract against malaria.

Comparative Content, Biological and Anticancer Activities of Heracleum humile Extracts Obtained by Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Method

As the safety and effectiveness of synthetic drugs remain in doubt, researchers are trying to develop natural medicines from medicinal plants. Herein, ethyl acetate, methanol and water extracts from the Heracleum humile plant were obtained by an ultrasonic-assisted extraction process and the aim was to evaluate some biological effects of the extracts due to the limited data on the pharmacological properties of Heracleum humile in the literature. Weak antibacterial activity was observed on tested bacterial species. The minimum inhibitory concentration and the minimum bactericidal concentration values ranged from 250 to 500 μg/mL. In addition, cytotoxic activity was determined using the MTT test. The strongest findings were determined for ethyl acetate extract on the MDA-MB-231 cell lines at the 48^th  hour (IC₅₀ :97.94 μg/mL), followed by the MCF-7 cell lines at the 24^th  hour (IC₅₀ :103.9 μg/mL). All extracts of Heracleum humile contained mainly flavonoids, phenolic acids and their derivatives, i. e., well-known compounds that possess numerous biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial etc. The study results could provide important information that Heracleum humile could be a potential candidate as a natural enzyme inhibitor. It can be concluded that these extracts could be useful in the elementary step of improving novel plant-derived multifunctional pharmaceuticals.

Traditional and Phytochemical Bases of Herbs, Shrubs, Climbers, and Trees from Ethiopia for Their Anticancer Response

Ethiopia is one of Africa's six plant-rich countries, with around 60% of the plants being indigenous and most of them having medicinal properties. 80% of people in the country use these plants as a primary health care system to tackle different diseases, including cancer. This review is aimed at summarizing the evidence gained from diverse MPs in Ethiopia that have been used ethnobotanically and ethnopharmacologically for treatment of cancer. The primary data sources were Google Scholar, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, and other electronic scientific databases. This literature review showed that there are around 200 MPs used as anticancer. Seventy-four herbs, 39 trees, 77 shrubs, and 17 weed/climbers belonging to 56 families have been identified for their ethnobotanical anticancer potential, and 31 species were recognized for their pharmaceutically anticancer activities. The reviewed data also indicated that many Ethiopian MPs had been used to treat breast, lung, blood, and skin cancers and other tumors. Besides, the collected data showed that the leaves (36.76%), roots (27.2%), bark (12.5%), stem (5.1%), and fruit (7.35%) of plants are commonly used for the preparation of anticancer remedies. Among the reported plant species, Euphorbiaceae (10.71%), Acanthaceae (7.14%), and Asteraceae (7.1%) are the most prominent plant families being used to treat cancer ethnobotanically. Phytochemicals such as flavonoids (like xanthone, indirubin, flavopiridol, and silybin), alkaloids (like taxol, vincristine, evodiamine, and berberine), and physalin B, D, and F steroids exhibited anticancer activity on various cancer cell lines. The crude extracts of Aerva javanica, Vernonia leopoldi, Withania somnifera, Kniphofia foliosa, and Catharanthus roseus were powerful anticancer agents with an IC₅₀ value below 10 μg/mL. Although several Ethiopian plants possess anticancer potential, only a limited number of plants are scientifically studied. Therefore, more scientific studies on anticancer MPs should be carried out; it may lead to discovering and isolating cost-effective and safe anticancer drugs.

Alkenylbenzoquinones and other compounds from the fruit of Maesa lanceolata exhibited potent cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antiradical scavenging activities§

A phytochemical study of the methanol extract of the fruit of Maesa lanceolata resulted in the isolation of a new alkenylbenzoquinone (1), alongside the known compounds (Z)-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-3-(pentadec-10'-enyl)-1,4-benzoquinone (2), 2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-3-(nonadec-14'-enyl)-1,4-benzoquinone (3), 2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-3-(tridecyl)-1,4-benzoquinone (4), (2S,3S,4R,2'R,9E)-[2'-hydroxytetraeicosanoyl]-2-aminooctadec-9-ene-1,3,4-triol (5), monopalmitin (glyceryl palmitate) (6), lupeol (7), and 3-O-(β-D-glucopyranoside)-β-sitosterol (8). The structures of the compounds were established by the means of spectroscopic (1 D- and 2 D-NMR) and spectrometric techniques (MS). The isolated compounds were assessed for their antibacterial, cytotoxic, and antiradical activities. Compound 2 showed moderate activity against Staphylococcus warneri (DSMZ 20036), while the other compounds were inactive. The two quinones 1 and 2 were significantly cytotoxic, with IC₅₀ values of 0.005 µM and 12.5 µM respectively, and were weakly active towards DPPH radical (IC₅₀ >250 µg/mL).

Effects of hydro-ethanolic extract of leaves of Maesa lanceolata (Mursinaceae) on acetic acid-induced ulcerative colitis in rats

Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammatory bowel disease that is characterized by acute and chronic inflammation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the efficacy of hydroethanolic extract of Maesa lanceolata leaves on acetic acid-induced colitis in rats. Colitis was induced by rectal administration of 1 mL of acetic acid (4%) in 25 male rats except the normal control group which received distilled water after 18 h of fasting followed by Ketamine (50 mg/kg)/Valium (10 mg/kg) anesthesia. Five hours later, the normal control and the negative control received distilled water, the positive control received prednisolone (5 mg/kg) and the three test groups received extract at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg bw for eight days. During treatment, rectal temperature, the number and quality of the stools, and changes in body weight were assessed. At the end of the treatment, the animals were sacrificed, blood, colon, liver and spleen were collected for evaluation of hematological, inflammatory, antioxidant and histological parameters. Rectal temperature and the number of diarrheal, mucus and bloody stools were significantly reduced (P < 0.01) during treatment in the test and positive control groups with an increase in body weight change. The extract significantly (P < 0.01) reduced myeloperoxidase, TNF-α, interleukin 6, NO and MDA levels and significantly (P < 0.01) increased SOD levels, of GSH and catalase activity in the colon and blood. This extract also increased (P < 0.01) levels of red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, total white blood cells and blood platelets, prevented leukocyte infiltration in the liver and colon.