The extract of Paris polyphylla exerts apoptotic induction and synergic antiproliferative effect with anticancer drugs in SMMC-7721 human liver cancer cells

Analysis of the heavy metal contents' effect on steroidal saponins and the anti-breast cancer activity of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis

Background: P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, as a near-threatened and ethnic medicine in China, used to be a key ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of traumatic injuries, sore throat, snakebites, and convulsions for thousands of years. However, there were no reports on the inverse relationship between the contents of heavy metals and saponins and its anti-breast cancer pharmacological activity in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Methods: The present study aimed to reveal the characteristics of heavy metal contents and saponins and its anti-breast cancer pharmacological activity and their interrelationships in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis from different production areas. The contents of heavy metal and steroidal saponins in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and the high-performance liquid chromatography technique, respectively. The Pearson correlation was used to study the correlation between saponins and heavy metals. 4T1 mouse mammary tumor cells were selected and cultivated for antitumor studies in vitro. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, Hoechst staining, and flow cytometry analysis were used for the examination of the proliferation and apoptosis of 4T1 tumor cells. Mouse breast cancer 4T1 cells were subcutaneously injected into BALB/c mice to construct a tumor model to explore the in vivo inhibitory effect on breast cancer. TUNEL assay and immunohistochemistry were used for the examination of the effect of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis from different origins on cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis induction in 4T1 tumor mice. Results: Heavy metal contents were highly correlated with the content of steroidal saponins. The overall content of 10 metals in the three producing origins was of the order C3 >C2 >C1. The total content of eight steroidal saponins in the extracts of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis from three different origins was C1 >C2 >C3. The Pearson correlation study showed that in all of the heavy metals, the contents of Cd and Ba were positively correlated with the main steroidal saponins in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, while Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Zn, As, Hg, and Pb showed a negative correlation. In vitro experiments showed that the extracts of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis from three origins could inhibit the proliferation and induce cell apoptosis of 4T1 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, especially in the C1 origin. In vivo experiments showed that the extract of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis from the three origins could inhibit the growth of tumors and induce the apoptosis of tumor cells. In the three origins, C1 origin had the lowest total heavy metal level but the highest total steroidal saponin level. Therefore, it showed a better effect in reducing the expression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and Kiel 67 (Ki67) and increasing the expression of p53 in tumor tissues compared to the other origins. In conclusion, in the three origins, C1 origin exhibits antitumor pharmacological effects in vivo and in vitro which are better than those in the other origins. Conclusion: In this study, we found that with the increase of the heavy metal content, the content of steroid saponins and anti-breast cancer activity decreased. The results showed that the high content of the total heavy metals may not be conducive to the accumulation of steroidal saponins in P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis and lead to the low anti-breast cancer activity. The results of this study suggest that the content of heavy metals should be controlled in the artificial cultivation process of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis.

Identification, Phytochemistry and Biological Activities of Paris polyphylla on Hepatocellular Carcinoma

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Liver cancer is the common cause of cancer death. <i>Paris polyphylla</i> is used as a traditional folk medicine in Vietnam to treat pneumonia, mastitis, bruises and fractures but no study was available regarding its ability to treat liver cancer or slow its growth. In this study, <i>Paris polyphylla</i> samples were identified and evaluated cytotoxic activity against the liver cancer cells. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> <i>Paris polyphylla</i> species were collected from various areas in Yen Bai, Vietnam, which were identified by comparative morphological method and DNA barcoding for the <i>18S, matK</i> genes and <i>ITS</i> region. <i>Paris polyphylla</i> samples were dried until constant weight, ground into a fine powder and extracted in various solvents. The bioactivity of these extracts were done by the MTT assay. <b>Results:</b> The sequences of <i>18S, matK</i> genes and <i>ITS</i> region were high similarity to sequences of <i>P. polyphylla</i> in the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The N-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions were produced from the methanol extract of <i>P. polyphylla</i>. The TLC results showed that there was a significant difference in the component of n-hexane and ethyl acetate fraction. The N-hexane fraction contains mainly low-polarity and non-polarity substances. While ethyl acetate fraction consists mainly of polar substances. In addition, ethyl acetate fraction was shown the strongest cytotoxic activity on the cancer cell lines HepG2 and Huh7 with the evaluation of IC₅₀ = 115.11±2.77 μg mL¹ and IC₅₀ = 148.11±1.78 μg mL¹. <b>Conclusion:</b> The extract of <i>Paris polyphylla</i> demonstrated strong potential to inhibit the growth of the liver cancer cell line. The ethyl acetate fraction has the highest ability for cytotoxicity on the liver and cell line at a concentration of 200 μg mL¹ through MTT.

Paris polyphylla Sm. Induces Reactive Oxygen Species and Caspase 3-Mediated Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer Cells In Vitro and Potentiates the Therapeutic Significance of Fluorouracil and Cisplatin

Paris polyphylla Sm. (Melanthiaceae) is an essential, vulnerable herb with a wide range of traditional applications ranging from fever to cancer in various communities. The use of P. polyphylla in India is limited to traditional healers. Here, we demonstrated that P. polyphylla extract (PPE) has good phenol, flavonoid, saponin, and steroidal saponin content and anti-oxidant activity with IC₅₀ 35.12 ± 6.1 μg/mL in DPPH and 19.69 ± 6.7 μg/mL in ABTS. Furthermore, PPE induces cytotoxicity in HCT-116 with IC₅₀ 8.72 ± 0.71 μg/mL without significant cytotoxicity inthe normal human colon epithelial cell line, CCD 841 CoN. PPE inhibits the metastatic property and induces apoptosis in HCT-116, as measured by Annexin V/PI, by increasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and caspase 3 activation. PPE acts synergistically with 5FU and cisplatin in HCT-116 and potentiates their therapeutic significance. Steroidal saponins with anticancer activities were detected in PPE by HR-LCMS. The present study demonstrated that PPE induces apoptosis by increasing ROS and activating caspase 3, which was attributed to steroidal saponins. PPE can be used as a potential natural remedy for colon cancer.

Novel polysaccharide extracted from Sipunculus nudus inhibits HepG2 tumour growth in vivo by enhancing immune function and inducing tumour cell apoptosis

A novel polysaccharide was extracted from Sipunculus nudus (SNP). The molecular weight (MW) of SNP was determined to be 9223 Da by high‐performance gel permeation chromatography analyses, and the structure of the SNP repeat units was determined to be →3,4‐β‐D‐GlcpNAC (1→ and →4) ‐α‐D‐Glcp (1→ in the ratio of 15:1; →2) ‐α ‐D‐Galp ‐ (1→ as a side chain; and β‐D‐Galp‐(1→ and α‐ D‐Glcp ‐ (1→ as end groups by GC‐MS analysis and NMR assays. The effect of SNP on hepatoma HepG2‐bearing mice was analysed to verify its potential in the clinical treatment of liver cancer. A total of 90 male athymic nu/nu mice were divided into therapeutic and preventive groups and fed with different amounts of SNP. The antitumour effect of SNP on HepG2‐bearing mice and mechanism of such were studied by analysing the tumour size, spleen index, thymus index, immune factors in the blood, tumour apoptosis factors, etc. The results suggest that SNP not only increased the index of immune organs in the body, but also enhanced the secretion of immune factors, including interleukin‐2, interferon gamma and tumour necrosis factor‐alpha in the serum. SNP induced the apoptosis of tumour cells via the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway, which upregulated caspase‐3, caspase‐8, caspase‐9 and BCL2‐associated X, but downregulated B‐cell lymphoma‐2 and vascular endothelial growth factor protein expression. In conclusion, SNP inhibited tumour growth by enhancing immune function and inducing tumour cell apoptosis in HepG2‐bearing mice. Therefore, SNP may be further investigated as a promising candidate for future antitumour drugs.

Evaluation of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of diosgenin enriched Paris polyphylla rhizome extract of Indian Himalayan landraces

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Traditional medicinal plants have gained attention as a potential therapeutic agent to combat cancer and inflammation. Diosgenin rich fresh extracts of Paris polyphylla rhizome from Indian Himalaya is traditionally used as wound healing, anti-bleeding, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer agent by the folk healers.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Present study was aimed to prepare two types of extracts from Paris polyphylla rhizome of Indian Himalayan landraces - 1. ethanolic extract of Paris polyphylla rhizome (EEPPR) and 2. Diosgenin enriched Paris polyphylla rhizome extract (DPPE), quantification of diosgenin content, and to evaluate their in vitro anti-oxidant, in vivo anti-inflammatory and in vitro cytotoxicity and anti-cancer activities of the DPPE.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Diosgenin content of EEPPR was quantified through GC-MS while diosgenin content of DPPE was quantified through HPTLC, and the diosgenin yield from EEPPR and DPPE were compared. In vitro antioxidant activities of DPPE were performed using DPPH, NOD, RP and SOD assay while in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of DPPE were evaluated in dextran induced hind paw edema in rats. In vitro cytotoxicity and anti-cancer activities of DPPE were evaluated in human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231), cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa) and Hep-2 cell lines.

RESULTS

EEPPR obtained through cold extraction method using 70% ethanol showed maximum diosgenin content of 17.90% quantified through GC-MS while similar compounds pennogenin (3.29%), 7β-Dehydrodiosgenin (1.90%), 7-Ketodiosgenin acetate (1.14%), and 7 β-hydroxydiosgenin (0.55%) were detected in low concentration, and thus confirmed diosgenin as major and lead phytochemical. However, DPPE obtained through both cold and repeated hot extraction with the same solvent (70% ethanol) showed diosgenin content of 60.29% which is significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the diosgenin content in EEPPR. DPPE demonstrated significant in vitro antioxidant activities by dose-dependently quenched (p < 0.001) SOD free radicals by 76.66%, followed by DPPH (71.43%), NOD (67.35%), and RP (63.74%) at a max concentration of 2 μg/μl of ascorbic acid and test drugs with remarkable IC50 values (p < 0.01). Further, DPPE also showed potent anti-inflammatory activities by dose-dependently suppressed dextran induced paw edema in rats (p < 0.01) from 2 h to 4 h. DPPE suppressed the proliferation of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, Hep-2 and HeLa cell lines. Maximum activity was observed in MCF-7 cells. The DPPE also induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cell lines as measured by AO/PI and DAPI staining, as well as DNA laddering, cell cycle analysis and phosphatidylserine externalization assay. The growth-inhibitory effect of DPPE on MCF-7 breast cancer cells was further confirmed from the colony-formation assay. DPPE upregulated expression of Bax and downregulated Bcl-2 and survivin mRNA transcripts.

CONCLUSION

DPPE obtained through both cold and repeated hot extraction using ethanol showed significantly higher content of diosgenin than the diosgenin content detected in EEPPR. However, diosgenin yield of both the extracts (EEPPR & DPPE) clearly confirmed diosgenin as major and lead phytochemical of Paris polyphylla rhizome of Indian Himalayan landraces. Further, DPPE also demonstrated potent in vitro anti-oxidative and in vivo anti-inflammatory activities and showed in vitro cytotoxicity and significant anti-cancer (apoptosis) effects in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Anti-proliferative and Apoptosis Induction Activity of Rhizome Extracts of Paris polyphylla Smith on Oral Cancer Cell

Background:

Paris polyphylla is a member of the family of Melanthiaceae (earlier Trilliaceae or Liliaceae). It is known as love apple in English. This traditional herbaceous medicinal plant is found mostly in South East Asia.

Objective:

To investigate the anti-proliferative and apoptosis induction activity of crude extracts of P. polyphylla on SAS oral cancer cell lines.

Methods:

The crude extracts (CE) of P. polyphylla (PP) collected from Rambrai (R), Meghalaya (Northeast India) were prepared by using 70% ethanol (E) and 70% methanol (M) solvents and named as PPR-ECE and PPR-MCE. The anti-proliferative effects of PPR-ECE and PPR-MCE were tested using the MTT assay. The apoptosis was examined by Annexin V-FITC/PI doublestaining assay.

Results:

PPR-ECE significantly (p≤ 0.05) decreased the proliferation of SAS cells up to 3.12% with an IC50 value of 25.84 μg/ml. Whereas, PPR-MCE decreased the survival rate of SAS cells up to 24.67% (p≤ 0.05) with an IC50 value of 425 μg/ml. PPR-ECE demonstrated higher cytotoxicity than PPR-MCE against SAS cells. When SAS cells were treated with PPR-ECE and PPR-MCE for 72 h, the apoptotic cells increased from 0.1% (control) to 28.35% and 34% at 500μg/ml respectively.

Conclusion:

The present study revealed that P. polyphylla collected from Meghalaya has an anti-proliferative capacity to inhibit the multiplication of the SAS cells. In comparison to PPRMCE extract, PPR-ECE was found to be more effective against SAS proliferation. Though the anticancer property of the herb is well documented, this investigation is the first report on the effects of P. polyphylla extracts against SAS oral cancer cells.

Composition of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides and their apoptosis-inducing effect on human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells

Background

Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP) is a natural functional component that has a variety of biological activities. The molecular structures and apoptosis-inducing activities on human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells of two LBP fractions, LBP-d and LBP-e, were investigated.

Results

The results showed that LBP-d and LBP-e both consist of protein, uronic acid, and neutral sugars in different proportions. The structure of LBP was characterized by gas chromatography, periodate oxidation, and Smith degradation. LBP-d was composed of eight kinds of monosaccharides (fucose, ribose, rhamnose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, galactose, and glucose), while LBP-e was composed of six kinds of monosaccharides (fucose, rhamnose, arabinose, mannose, galactose, and glucose). LBP-d and LBP-e blocked SMMC-7721 cells at the G0/G1 and S phases with an inhibition ratio of 26.70 and 45.13%, respectively, and enhanced the concentration of Ca²⁺ in the cytoplasm of SMMC-7721.

Conclusion

The contents of protein, uronic acid, and galactose in LBP-e were much higher than those in LBP-d, which might responsible for their different bioactivities. The results showed that LBP can be provided as a potential chemotherapeutic agent drug to treat cancer.