Total saponins of Albiziae Cortex show anti-hepatoma carcinoma effects by inducing S phase arrest and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway activation

A comparison review of Hehuan flowers and Hehuan bark on the traditional applications, phytochemistry and pharmacological effects

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Albizia julibrissin Durazz is a well-known medicinal plant with the Chinese name Hehuan []. Hehuan bark and Hehuan flowers have long been recognized as traditional Chinese herbal medicine for treating anxiety, melancholy, insomnia, bruises, pulmonary abscess, fractures, carbuncle, amnesia, acute conjunctivitis, blurred vision, neonatal tetanus and stroke for thousands of years. They are recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia separately with different properties. Until now, new chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Hehuan have been continuously studied and revealed.

THE AIM OF THE REVIEW

This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of traditional applications, phytochemistry, pharmacology effects, and toxicology of Hehuan bark and Hehuan flowers, and give critical assessment and point out the promising direction for further research on Hehuan.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A literature search was undertaken on Hehuan bark and Hehuan flowers by analyzing the information from scientific databases (SciFinder, Pubmed, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Baidu Scholar). We also gathered the information of Hehuan from classic herbal literatures and conference papers on ethnopharmacology.

RESULTS

According to Chinese and English documents, the medicinal history of Hehuan in China can be traced back to ad 25. Meanwhile, its medicinal history as a kind of herbal medicine can also be found in other Asian countries. So far about 140 compounds have been isolated from Hehuan bark and Hehuan flowers, including triterpenoids, flavonoids, lignans, phenolic acids, alkaloids, etc. Among them, flavonoids mainly exist in Hehuan flowers, while Hehuan bark contains lignans and saponins. The composition differences between the barks and flowers of Hehuan account for the different effects and applications. Modern pharmacological studies have indicated that crude extracts and pure compounds of Hehuan flowers and Hehuan bark have multiple pharmacological activities, such as antineoplastic, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, antidepressant, metabolic regulation, anti-insomnia, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, sedative, and anti-osteolytic activities.

CONCLUSIONS

Hehuan (Albizia julibrissin Durazz) is traditionally used to relieve depression, calm nerves, promote blood circulation and reduce swelling. Modern pharmacological studies have revealed that natural products from Hehuan bark and Hehuan flowers possess extensive pharmacological activities in treating cancer, enhancing immunity, regulating metabolism, improving mental state, etc. These properties make it great clinical application potential. Further research on natural pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, pharmacokinetics, and quality standards of Hehuan are still required to verify the efficacy and safety for future clinical applications.

C118P exerted potent anti-tumor effects against melanoma with induction of G2/M arrest via inhibiting the expression of BUB1B

BACKGROUND

The incidence of melanoma rapidly increased in the past decades, and the clinical treatment of melanoma met huge challenges because of tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance. C118P, a novel tubulin polymerization inhibitor, exhibited strong anticancer effects in many tumors. However, there was no data regarding the potential effects of C118P in melanoma cells.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate of the efficacy and potential target of C118P in melanoma cells.

METHODS

Human melanoma cells were treated with C118P, followed by assessments of proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle distribution. Subsequently, RNA sequencing was performed to further identify the drug targets of C118P in melanoma cells. GO analysis and protein-protein interaction networks analysis were used to screen the potential targets, and verified by a series of assays. Finally, the anti-growth activity of C118P was evaluated in A375-xenografted nude mice, and the expression of BUB1B (BUB1 mitotic checkpoint serine/threonine kinase B), Ki67 and Tunel were determined.

RESULTS

We found that C118P concentration-dependently inhibited proliferation of melanoma cells. Moreover, C118P simultaneously triggered dramatic G2/M arrest and apoptosis via independent mechanisms in melanoma cells in vitro. C118P exerted anti-melanoma effects by inducing potent G2/M arrest, which was mechanistically related to downregulation of the expression of BUB1B. Importantly, C118P inhibited the tumor growth in A375-xenografted nude, and increased the staining of Ki-67 and Tunel and suppressed the expression of BUB1B in melanoma tissues, which was consistent with in vitro study.

CONCLUSION

C118P might provide a novel strategy for the clinical treatment of melanoma by inhibition of BUB1B.

(-)-Syringaresinol suppressed LPS-induced microglia activation via downregulation of NF-κB p65 signaling and interaction with ERβ

Albiziae Cortex (AC) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine with sedative-hypnotic effects and neuroprotective ability. However, the bioactive components of AC responsible for the neuro-protective actitivity remain unknown. Here, we investigated the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of (-)-syringaresinol (SYR) extracted from AC in microglia cells and wild-type mice. As a result, (-)-SYR significantly reduced lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of interleukin - 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin -1 beta (IL-1β), cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2), and nitric oxide (NO) in BV2 microglia cells. (-)-SYR also significantly reduced M1 marker CD40 expression and increased M2 marker CD206 expression. Moreover, we found that (-)-SYR inhibited LPS-induced NF-κB activation by suppressing the translocation of NF-κB p65 into the nucleus in a concentration-dependent manner. Meanwhile, estrogen receptor β (ERβ) was found to be implied in the anti-inflammatory activity of (-)-SYR in BV2 microglia. In vivo experiments revealed that administration of (-)-SYR in mice significantly reduced microglia/astrocytes activation and mRNA levels of proinflammatory mediators. Taken together, our data indicated that (-)-SYR exerted the anti-neuroinflammatory effects by inhibiting NF-κB activation and modulation of microglia polarization, and via interaction with ERβ. The anti-neuroinflammatory activity of (-)-SYR may provide a new therapeutic avenue for the treatment of brain diseases associated with inflammation.

Pharmacologically targeting molecular motor promotes mitochondrial fission for anti-cancer

Mitochondrial shape rapidly changes by dynamic balance of fusion and fission to adjust to constantly changing energy demands of cancer cells. Mitochondrial dynamics balance is exactly regulated by molecular motor consisted of myosin and actin cytoskeleton proteins. Thus, targeting myosin-actin molecular motor is considered as a promising strategy for anti-cancer. In this study, we performed a proof-of-concept study with a natural-derived small-molecule J13 to test the feasibility of anti-cancer therapeutics via pharmacologically targeting molecular motor. Here, we found J13 could directly target myosin-9 (MYH9)-actin molecular motor to promote mitochondrial fission progression, and markedly inhibited cancer cells survival, proliferation and migration. Mechanism study revealed that J13 impaired MYH9-actin interaction to inactivate molecular motor, and caused a cytoskeleton-dependent mitochondrial dynamics imbalance. Moreover, stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) technology-coupled with pulldown analysis identified HSPA9 as a crucial adaptor protein connecting MYH9-actin molecular motor to mitochondrial fission. Taken together, we reported the first natural small-molecule directly targeting MYH9-actin molecular motor for anti-cancer translational research. Besides, our study also proved the conceptual practicability of pharmacologically disrupting mitochondrial fission/fusion dynamics in human cancer therapy.

Ethanol extract of Ardisiae Japonicae Herba inhibits hepatoma carcinoma cell proliferation in vitro through regulating lipid metabolism

Objective

The aim of this study is to discover the possible working mechanisms of Ardisiae Japonicae Herba (AJH) on hepatoma carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

In this study, ethanol extract of AJH was prepared and used to treat HCC cell in vitro. Furthermore, a genomic wide RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to screen deregulated genes in HCC cells after the treatment of AJH extract. The gene and protein expression related to lipid metabolism in HCC cells were also investigated to validate the results obtained from RNA-seq.

Results

AJH extract could inhibit HCC cell proliferation in vitro. RNA-seq analysis has identified 1,601 differentially expressed genes (DEGs, fold change ≥ 2.0 or fold change ≤ 0.5, P < 0.05) in HCC after AJH extract treatment, which included 225 up-regulated genes and 1,376 down-regulated genes. KEGG pathway analysis of DEGs demonstrated that lipid metabolism was a potential pathway related to AJH treatment. In agreement with the RNA-seq data, qPCR and Western-blot analysis indicated that expression of genes and proteins related to lipid metabolism (SREBP1, ACC, ACLY and FASN) were significantly down-regulated in AJH treatment group as compared with the control group. Furthermore, AJH extract could also decrease lipid contents and cellular free fatty acid levels in HCC cells.

Conclusion

Ethanol extract of AJH could inhibit HCC cell proliferation in vitro, the possible mechanism may be related to the inhibition of lipid metabolism.

Oleanane-type saponins and prosapogenins from Albizia julibrissin and their cytotoxic activities

Two undescribed oleanane-type saponins, julibrosides K-L, along with three undescribed oleanane-type prosapogenins, julibrosides M-O, were isolated from the stem bark of Albizia julibrissin Durazz. and the mild alkaline hydrolysate of the total saponin, respectively. Their structures were established by extensive analysis of 1D and 2D NMR experiments (COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC, and HSQC-TOCSY) and mass spectrometry. Furthermore, the cytotoxic activities of the isolated compounds against BGC-823, A549, HCT-116, and HepG2 cell lines were evaluated, and julibroside L showed significant cytotoxic activities against the four cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 5.77, 4.80, 4.26, and 4.93 μM, respectively.

Albizia lebbeck and Albizia zygia volatile oils exhibit anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties in pain models

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Albizia lebbeck and Albizia zygia are used in Nigeria, South Africa and other countries for the treatment of flu, fever, pain, epilepsy, and inflammation.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Application of plant essence for treating ailments is common among local communities. This research was designed to characterize the volatile compounds and evaluate the toxicity, anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive properties of this plant species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The volatile oils were analysed comprehensively utilizing gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) using the HP-5 column. The toxicity was evaluated using the toxicity assay. The anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory assays were analysed by a hot plate, Formalin, and carrageenan-induced edema assays, respectively.

RESULTS

The essential oils were obtained in a yield of 0.1% (v/w) calculated on a dry weight basis for both oils. The main compounds of A. lebbeck were 2-pentylfuran (16.4%), (E)-geranyl acetone (15.46%), (E)-α-ionone (15.45%) and 3-Octanone (11.61%), while the oil of A. zygia is mainly hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (33.14%), (E)-methyl isoeugenol (11.7%) and 2-methyl tetradecane (6.64%). The volatile oils are non-toxic to about 5000 mg/kg dose. Albizia zygia significantly (P < 0.001) suppressed the nociceptive afferent fibres in a non-dose dependent manner in comparison to A. lebbeck in the hot plate model. Both oils inhibited nociceptive mediators at both phases of the formalin-induced assay, with a maximum inhibition (100%) at the inflammatory stage. The volatile oils inhibited the Carrageenan-induced inflammation at all phases ranging from P < 0.05 to P < 0.001. The probable pro-inflammatory inhibitory mechanism might be the suppression of some pain biomarkers such as histamine, serotonin, bradykinin, and the Interleukins (ILs) induced by the edema. Volatile constituents such as ionones, eugenol derivatives and other compounds cause the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities reported.

CONCLUSION

This is the first report of the volatile oils and bioassays of Albizia zygia, while the study also confirms previous studies of A. lebbeck. Generally, the findings further prove the use of the plants as pain ameliorating agents.

Standardized Saponin Extract from Baiye No.1 Tea (Camellia sinensis) Flowers Induced S Phase Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis via AKT-MDM2-p53 Signaling Pathway in Ovarian Cancer Cells

Ovarian cancer is considered to be one of the most serious malignant tumors in women. Natural compounds have been considered as important sources in the search for new anti-cancer agents. Saponins are characteristic components of tea (Camellia sinensis) flower and have various biological activities, including anti-tumor effects. In this study, a high purity standardized saponin extract, namely Baiye No.1 tea flower saponin (BTFS), which contained Floratheasaponin A and Floratheasaponin D, were isolated from tea (Camellia sinensis cv. Baiye 1) flowers by macroporous resin and preparative liquid chromatography. Then, the component and purity were detected by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS/MS. This high purity BTFS inhibited the proliferation of A2780/CP70 cancer cells dose-dependently, which is evidenced by the inhibition of cell viability, reduction of colony formation ability, and suppression of PCNA protein expression. Further research found BTFS induced S phase cell cycle arrest by up-regulating p21 proteins expression and down-regulating Cyclin A2, CDK2, and Cdc25A protein expression. Furthermore, BTFS caused DNA damage and activated the ATM-Chk2 signaling pathway to block cell cycle progression. Moreover, BTFS trigged both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis—BTFS up-regulated the expression of death receptor pathway-related proteins DR5, Fas, and FADD and increased the ratio of pro-apoptotic/anti-apoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family. BTFS-induced apoptosis seems to be related to the AKT-MDM2-p53 signaling pathway. In summary, our results demonstrate that BTFS has the potential to be used as a nutraceutical for the prevention and treatment of ovarian cancer.

The ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of genus Albizia: A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The genus Albizia (Leguminosae) comprises about 150 species and some species have been used for the treatment of rheumatism, stomachache, cough, diarrhea, and wounds in traditional and local medicine. The aim of the review: This review article documents and critically assesses the current status of the traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of the Albizia species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All provided literatures on the Albizia species were searched using the electronic databases (e.g. Web of Science, Elsevier, Springer, PubMed, ACS, CNKI, Google Scholar, and Baidu Scholar), books, and theses with keywords of 'Albizia' and 'Albizzia'.

RESULTS

Albizia species have been used for melancholia, insomnia, wounds, fever, abscesses, diabetes, headache, stomachache, diarrhea, cough, rheumatism, snake bite, malaria, and parasitic infection in traditional and local medicine. These plants mainly contain triterpenoid saponins, flavonoids, lignanoids, alkaloids, phenolic glycosides, etc. Albizia species have been demonstrated to possess various pharmacological activities. Among them, the antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antifertility, antianxiety, antidepressant, and anti-fever properties are consistent with the traditional and local applications of the Albizia species.

CONCLUSIONS

The traditional and local uses of Albizia species have been partially demonstrated by the pharmacological investigation. However, some traditional applications have not been assessed scientifically due to incomplete methodologies and ambiguous findings. Moreover, no clinical evidences support the health benefits of these plants. The systematic and comprehensive preclinical studies and clinical trials are still required to verify the pharmacological activities, clinical efficacy, and safety of Albizia species.

Rapid annotation and structural characterization of saponins in the active fraction of Albizia julibrissin by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry based on accurate mass database

The purified active fraction of Albizia julibrissin saponin was proved to be a promising adjuvant candidate for vaccine. In this study, a simple, convenient, and practical strategy was established for characterizing the saponins in this purified active fraction. The personal accurate mass database including chemical structure, molecular formula, and theoretical mass was first constructed by collecting 110 reported known saponins from genus Albizia species. The raw data was obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. The potential compounds were extracted from raw data, and matched with the accurate mass databases. A series of saponin compounds were predicted and their chemical structures were characterized by interpreting the tandem mass spectrometry data. A total of 29 saponins including 10 new compounds and 5 first found saponins from A. julibrissin were successfully characterized in this purified active fraction using this new strategy.

Antitumor activity of selenium modification of the bovine milk component β-Lg (Se-β-Lg) on H22 cells

In this study, the apoptosis induction and antitumor activity of a novel complex, seleno-β-lactoglobulin (Se-β-Lg), on H22 cells were explored.