Phytochemical analysis of Canna indica L. roots and rhizomes extract

Exploring Anticancer Properties of Medicinal Plants against Breast Cancer by Downregulating Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2

Plants have a history of being employed in managing breast cancer. However, no scientific evidence supports the idea that these plants can effectively reduce the level of HER2 expression. In this study, extracts from 10 medicinal plants were evaluated for their anticancer properties against HER2-positive breast cancer cells through various methods, including the SRB assay, comet assay, annexin V-FITC dual staining, and immunoblotting. All extracts exerted antiproliferative activity against HER2-positive breast cancer cells. Furthermore, Terminalia chebula (T. chebula), Berberis aristata (B. aristata), and Mucuna pruriens (M. pruriens) reduced HER2 expression in tested cell lines. In addition, an increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio was observed after the treatment. A comparative proteomics study showed modulation in the proteome profile of breast cancer cells after treatment with T. chebula, B. aristata, Punica granatum, M. pruriens, and Acorus calamus. Metabolic profiling of lead plants revealed the existence of multiple anticancer compounds. Our study demonstrates the considerable potential of the mentioned plants as innovative therapies for HER2-positive breast cancer.

Potential antithrombotic effect of two new phenylpropanoid sucrose esters and other secondary metabolites of Canna indica L. rhizome

Canna indica L. has been traditionally used to treat various diseases. Based on previously reported antithrombotic effect for this plant, two new phenylpropanoid sucrose esters (canindicoside A (1) and canindicoside B (2)) and seven known compounds: nepetoidin B (3), caffeic acid (4), ferulic acid (5), (R)-(+)-rosmarinic acid (6), isorinic acid (7), (S)-(-)-rosmarinic acid (8) and (S)-(-)-rosmarinic acid methyl ester (9) were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract. Compounds were elucidated by NMR and MS spectroscopic methods. The antiplatelet effect was evaluated using turbidimetric method. Anticoagulant activity was examined by measuring activated partial thromboplastine time (APTT), prothrombin time, and thrombine time (TT). It was shown for the first time that both new phenylpropanoid sucrose esters 1 and 2, 7 and 9 displayed dose-dependent antiplatelet effects. 2 and 9 had the highest inhibitory activity on both adenosine diphosphate (ADP)- and collagen-induced platelet aggregation. Moreover, 1, 7 and 9 also exhibited anticoagulant activity. At 0.4 mg/mL, both 1 and 7 prolonged APTT compared to the negative control (p < 0.05), suggesting the possible inhibitory impact on the intrinsic coagulation pathway. Moreover, 9 at 0.4 mg/mL exerted higher TT values than the negative control (p < 0.05). C. indica and its bioactive phytochemicals are potential candidates for development of anti-thrombosis therapy.

An Interaction Network Driven Approach for Identifying Cervical, Endometrial, Vulvar Carcinomic Biomarkers and Their Multi-targeted Inhibitory Agents from Few Widely Available Medicinal Plants

Differently expressed genes (DEGs) across cervical (CC), endometrial (EC), and vulvar carcinoma (VC) may serve as potential biomarkers for these progressive tumor conditions. In this study, DEGs of cervical (CC), endometrial (EC), and vulvar carcinoma (VC) were identified by microarray analysis. The interaction network between the identified 124 DEGs was constructed and analyzed to identify the hub genes and genes with high stress centrality. DEGs, namely, CDK1 and MMP9, were found to show highest degree and highest stress centrality respectively from the gene interaction network of 124 nodes and 1171 edges. DEG CDK1 is found to be overlapping in both cervical and endometrial carcinomic conditions while DEG MMP9 is found in vulvar carcinomic condition. Further, as it is studied that many phytochemicals play an important role as medicinal drugs, we have identified phytochemicals from few widely available medicinal plants and performed comprehensive computational study to identify a multi-targeted phytochemical against the identified DEGs, which are crucially responsible for the progression of these carcinomic conditions. Virtual screening of the phytochemicals against the target DEG protein structures with PDB IDs 4Y72 and 1GKC resulted in identifying the multi-targeted phytochemical against both the proteins. The molecular docking and dynamics simulation studies reveal that luteolin can act as a multi-targeted agent. Thus, the interactional and structural insights of luteolin toward the DEG proteins signify that it can be further explored as a multi-targeted agent against the cervical, endometrial, and vulvar carcinoma.

Rutaretin1'-(6″-sinapoylglucoside): promising inhibitor of COVID 19 mpro catalytic dyad from the leaves of Pittosporum dasycaulon miq (Pittosporaceae)

SARS CoV2 is a novel strain of coronavirus, first reported in Wuhan of China, in 2019 and drugs specific to COVID-19 treatment are still lacking. The main protease (3CL) present in the new coronavirus strain is considered a potential drug target due to its role in viral replications. The plant Pittosporum dasycaulon Miq. is a medicinal plant reported to have prominent antimicrobial including antibacterial and antifungal activity. In this study, 12 natural compounds were selected on the basis of major peaks observed in the LC-HRMS analysis of P. dasycaulon aqueous leaves extract (AQLE). The pharmacological properties of the selected compounds against 3CLpro were investigated through in silico studies along with the standard antiviral drugs Lopinavir and Nelfinavir. The molecular docking study was done using Autodock 4.2 tool and visualized using Pymol (1.7.4.5 Edu). The docking analysis revealed that three compounds showed a better binding affinity than the standard drug Lopinavir. To validate the docking interactions, behaviour and stability of protein- ligand complex, molecular dynamics (100 ns) simulations were performed with the four best-ranked bioactive compounds identified through molecular docking analysis namely; Leptinidine, Rutaretin1'-(6″-sinapoylglucoside), Kalambroside A, and 5,7-dimethoxy', 4'methylenedioxyflavanone. The stability of the docking conformation was studied in depth by calculating the binding free energy using MM-PBSA method. Our findings on molecular docking, MD simulations and binding energy calculations suggest that Rutaretin1'-(6''-sinapoylglucoside) could be a potential inhibitor of COVID-19 3CLpro. However, considering the current pandemic situation of COVID-19, further research is required to experimentally validate their potential medicinal use against COVID-19 3CLpro both in vitro and in vivo along with clinical practices. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Elimination of coexisting canna yellow mottle virus, bean yellow mosaic virus and cucumber mosaic virus from Canna generalis cv. black knight through in vitro chemotherapy of rhizome explants

During our previous study, the mixed infection of canna yellow mottle virus (CaYMV), bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV), and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) was identified in a Black Knight cultivar of canna exhibiting severe yellow streak and mottling symptoms. Before the development of the virus-free plants, the ability of callogenesis and organogenesis from the ovary, stalk, and rhizome explants was tested on different concentrations and combinations of TDZ, NAA, BAP, and Ads growth regulators. The performance of rhizome explants was above all the explant types and 33.33 ± 1.67 rhizomes (out of 50 placed) showed callus development on ME medium (MS supplemented with 0.8 mg/L TDZ and 0.25 mg/L NAA) and further on a refined M4 medium (MS supplemented with 4.0 mg/L BAP, 1.0 mg/L NAA and 50 mg/L Ads) produced 4.06 ± 0.16 shoots per explant. The development of virus-free plants was attempted by in vitro chemotherapy using ribavirin. Not only in callogenesis and shoot development but also in the ribavirin treatments, rhizomes developed about 3.78 ± 0.68 shoots per explant on 40 mg/L ribavirin in the ME medium. These optimizations suggested that ME medium for callogenesis, M4 medium for shoot development and the treatment of 40 mg/L ribavirin for 30 days at M4 medium was effective. The elimination of coinfection of all three viruses from rhizome explants of 0.5 cm2 of the Black Knight cultivar was attempted. Consequently, a total of 53.33% of plants free from all three viruses (48 out of the 90 plants developed) were obtained when screened by RT-PCR and PCR for their absence.

Potential of Canna indica in Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment: A Review

This article reviews investigations in which Canna indica was utilized in constructed wetlands (CW) for wastewater treatment of a variety types. It is strongly urged that ornamental flowering plants be used in CWs as monoculture or mixed species to improve the appearance of CWs whilst still treating wastewater. Plants play important roles in CWs by giving the conditions for physical filtration of wastewater, a large specific surface area for microbial growth, and a source of carbohydrates for bacteria. They absorb nutrients and integrate them into plant tissues. They release oxygen into the substrate, establishing a zone in which aerobic microorganisms can thrive and chemical oxidation can occur. They also provide wildlife habitat and make wastewater treatment system more visually attractive. The selection of plant species for CW is an important aspect during the CW design process. Canna indica’s effectiveness in CWs has shown encouraging results for eliminating contaminants from wastewater. There is still a scarcity of information on the mechanisms involved in removal of specific contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, hormones, pesticides and steroids and their potential toxicity to the plants. Therefore, this paper reviews some published information about the performance of Canna indica in wastewater treatment, as well as potential areas for future research.

HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitory Activities of Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. Rhizome Extracts and the Phytochemical Profile Analysis: In Vitro and In Silico Screening

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Currently, several anti-retroviral drugs are available, but adverse effects of these drugs have been reported. Herein, we focused on the anti-HIV-1 activity of Curcuma aeruginosa Roxb. (CA) extracted by hexane (CA-H), ethyl acetate (CA-EA), and methanol (CA-M). The in vitro HIV-1 protease (PR) and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitory activities of CA extracts were screened. CA-M potentially inhibited HIV-1 PR (82.44%) comparable to Pepstatin A (81.48%), followed by CA-EA (67.05%) and CA-H (47.6%), respectively. All extracts exhibited moderate inhibition of HIV-1 RT (64.97 to 76.93%). Besides, phytochemical constituents of CA extracts were identified by GC-MS and UPLC-HRMS. Fatty acids, amino acids, and terpenoids were the major compounds found in the extracts. Furthermore, drug-likeness parameters and the ability of CA-identified compounds on blocking of the HIV-1 PR and RT active sites were in silico investigated. Dihydroergocornine, 3β,6α,7α-trihydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid, and 6β,11β,16α,17α,21-Pentahydroxypregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione-16,17-acetonide showed strong binding affinities at the active residues of both HIV-1 PR and RT. Moreover, antioxidant activity of CA extracts was determined. CA-EA exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, which positively related to the amount of total phenolic content. This study provided beneficial data for anti-HIV-1 drug discovery from CA extracts.