Anticancer potential of Annona genus: A detailed review

Pyrones Isolated from Annona Acutiflora Exhibit Promising Cytotoxic Effects on Cancer Cell Lines

This work discusses the ongoing challenge of cancer, focusing on therapy issues such as chemotherapy resistance and adverse drug effects. It emphasizes the need for new anticancer agents with improved efficacy and fewer side effects, exploring natural products from plant sources. The Annonaceae family, specifically the Annona genus, is highlighted for its medicinal properties, including anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. The study focuses on the isolation and elucidation of the substances present in Annona acutiflora leaves. The methodology involves chromatographic and spectroscopy techniques. The isolated compounds, (6S)-5'-oxohepten-1'E,3'E-dienyl)-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one (1), (6R)-5'-oxohepten-1'Z,3'E-dienyl)-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one (2) and (6R)-5'-oxohepten-1'Z,3'E-dienyl)-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one (3) were investigated for cytotoxicity assays on cancer cell lines and normal cells. Results show promising cytotoxic activity, particularly with compound 3, demonstrating potential activity against oral cancer (43.18 μM), hepatocarcinoma (17.24 μM), melanoma (5.39 μM), and colon cancer (59.03 μM). The compound outperforms carboplatin in selectivity against oral cancer (S. I. 2.15) and melanoma (S. I. 17.22). The study concludes by suggesting the potential of these α-pyrones as effective and less toxic alternatives for cancer therapy.

Changes in the pasting and rheological properties of wheat, corn, water caltrop and lotus rhizome starches by the addition of Annona montana mucilage

Annona montana mucilage (AMM) is a novel mucilage with unique but limited information. This study investigated the effects of AMM addition on the pasting and rheological properties of wheat starch (WS), corn starch (CS), water caltrop starch (WCS), and lotus rhizome starch (LRS). The addition of AMM generally increased the pasting temperature and peak viscosity, but reduced the setback value of all starches to varying degrees, and the initiation of viscosity-increase for cereal starch/AMM systems during pasting occurred at lower temperatures, accompanied with a distinctive two-stage swelling process as well as lower peak and final hot paste viscosity at 50 °C. AMM significantly increased the pseudoplasticity and entanglement of the systems to varying degrees (LRS > WS > WCS > CS). Under a constant shear rate of 50 s-1, the consistency level was found to fall in honey-like for cereal starch/AMM groups, and honey-like to extremely thick levels for WCS and LRS/AMM groups. Except for the WCS/AMM systems, the storage and loss modulus as well as tan increased with increasing AMM concentration. Short-term retrogradation of starch at 4 °C was pronouncedly retarded by the addition of AMM for WS, CS and WCS groups, but was less affected for LRS group.

Natural Acetogenins, Chatenaytrienins-1, -2, -3 and -4, Mitochondrial Potential Uncouplers and Autophagy Inducers-Promising Anticancer Agents

The present paper details the complete stereoselective synthesis of four natural acetogenins, chatenaytrienins-1, -2, -3 and -4, previously isolated from the roots of fruit trees of the family Annonaceae (A. nutans and A. muricata), as an inseparable mixture. The novel organometallic reactions, developed by the authors, of Ti-catalyzed cross-cyclomagnesiation of O-containing and aliphatic allenes using available Grignard reagents were applied at the key stage of synthesis. We have studied the biological activity of the synthesized individual chatenaytrienins-1, -2, -3 and -4 in vitro, including their cytotoxicity in a panel of tumor lines and their ability to induce apoptosis, affect the cell cycle and mitochondria, and activate the main apoptotic signaling pathways in the cell, applying modern approaches of flow cytometry and multiplex analysis with Luminex xMAP technology. It has been shown that chatenaytrienins affect mitochondria by uncoupling the processes of mitochondrial respiration, causing the accumulation of ROS ions, followed by the initiation of apoptosis. The most likely mechanism for the death of cortical neurons from the consumption of tea from the seeds of Annona fruit is long-term chronic hypoxia, which leads to the development of an atypical form of Parkinson's disease that is characteristic of the indigenous inhabitants of Guam and New Caledonia.

Citrus Essential Oils: A Rational View on its Chemical Profiles, Mode of Action of Anticancer Effects/Antiproliferative Activity on Various Human Cancer Cell Lines

Cancer is a complex genetic disorder due to uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body, causes damage to the immune system, and may lead to life-threatening situations. Common approaches to cancer treatment includes chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy etc. Development of novel and natural chemotherapeutic agents is highly demanded because of the side effects of synthetic drugs. Essential oils from aromatic plants exhibited antioxidant, antimutagenic, antiproliferative and immunomodulating activities. Mechanism of multidrug resistance and synergistic action of these volatile constituents are responsible for their chemopreventive properties. These oils primarily comprising of terpenoid constituents and are characterized by volatility, aroma, low molecular weight etc. The chemical composition of these oils varies depending on the environmental condition, species, plant part and geographical region. Literature analysis revealed that plant essential oils play an important role in cancer prevention and treatment. Cancer patients exposed to essential oils via inhaler devices were found to have less anxiety, stress, and nausea and insomnia. Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for investigating the biological properties of aromatic plants due to their availability, chemical diversity, and low toxicity. In aromatherapy, Citrus essential oils repress cancer related pain and enhance immune system. Current review summarizes existing variability of the chemical composition of Citrus essential oils and its molecular level anticancer mechanism against various human cancer cell lines. Citrus essential oils enhance cytotoxicity, antiproliferative and apoptotic behavior of cancer cell lines. Since essential oils exhibiting significant anticancer potential is worthy of further investigation for cancer chemoprevention. The findings of various research activities can be exploited by cancer researchers world wide for the development of anticancer drugs which can relieve cancer symptoms.

Green Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Annona glabra and Annona squamosa Extracts with Antimicrobial, Anticancer, Apoptosis Potentials, Assisted by In Silico Modeling, and Metabolic Profiling

Annona glabra L. (AngTE) and Annona squamosa L. (AnsTE) fruits have been widely used in cancer treatment. Accordingly, their extracts were used to synthesize silver nanoparticles via a biogenic route (Ang-AgNPs) and (Ans-AgNPs), respectively. Chemical profiling was established using UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. All species were tested for anticancer activity against human cervical cancer cells (HeLa), prostate adenocarcinoma metastatic (PC3), and ovary adenocarcinoma (SKOV3) using sulphorhodamine B assay. Apoptosis was determined using Annexin flow cytometry along with cell cycle analysis and supported by a molecular docking. The antibacterial and synergistic effect when combined with gentamicin were evaluated. A total of 114 compounds were tentatively identified, mainly acetogenins and ent-kaurane diterpenes. AnsTE and Ans-AgNPs had the most potent cytotoxicity on HeLa and SKOV3 cells, inducing a significant apoptotic effect against all tumor cells. The AnsTE and Ans-AgNPs significantly arrested PC3, SKOV3, and HeLa cells in the S phase. The nanoparticles demonstrated greater antibacterial and antifungal activities, as well as a synergistic effect with gentamicin against P. aeruginosa and E. coli. Finally, a molecular docking was attempted to investigate the binding mode of the identified compounds in Bcl-2 proteins’ receptor, implying that the fruits and their nanoparticles are excellent candidates for treating skin infections in patients with ovarian or prostatic cancer.