Soursop leaves (Annona muricata L.) endophytic fungi anticancer activity against HeLa cells

Herbal compounds as promising therapeutic agents in precision medicine strategies for cancer: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The field of personalized medicine has gained increasing attention in cancer care, with the aim of tailoring treatment strategies to individual patients for improved outcomes. Herbal medicine, with its long-standing historical use and extensive bioactive compounds, offers a rich source of potential treatments for various diseases, including cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To provide an overview of the current knowledge and evidence associated with incorporating herbal compounds into precision medicine strategies for cancer diseases. Additionally, to explore the general characteristics of the studies included in the analysis, focusing on their key features and trends.

SEARCH STRATEGY

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from multiple online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL-EBSCO. The search strategy was designed to identify studies related to personalized cancer medicine and herbal interventions.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

Publications pertaining to cancer research conducted through in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies, employing natural products were included in this review.

DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently applied inclusion and inclusion criteria, data extraction, and assessments of methodological quality. The quality assessment and biases of the studies were evaluated based on modified Jadad scales. A detailed quantitative summary of the included studies is presented, providing a comprehensive description of their key features and findings.

RESULTS

A total of 121 studies were included in this review for analysis. Some of them were considered as comprehensive experimental investigations both in vitro and in vivo. The majority (n = 85) of the studies included in this review were conducted in vitro, with 44 of them specifically investigating the effects of herbal medicine on animal models. Additionally, 7 articles with a combined sample size of 31,271 patients, examined the impact of herbal medicine in clinical settings.

CONCLUSION

Personalized medication can optimize the use of herbal medicine in cancer treatment by considering individual patient factors such as genetics, medical history, and other treatments. Additionally, active phytochemicals found in herbs have shown potential for inhibiting cancer cell growth and inducing apoptosis, making them a promising area of research in preclinical and clinical investigations. Please cite this article as: Tayeb BA, Kusuma IY, Osman AAM, Minorics R. Herbal compounds as promising therapeutic agents in precision medicine strategies for cancer: A systematic review. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(2): 137-162.

Endophytic fungi as a potential source of anti-cancer drug

Endophytes are considered one of the major sources of bioactive compounds used in different aspects of health care including cancer treatment. When colonized, they either synthesize these bioactive compounds as a part of their secondary metabolite production or augment the host plant machinery in synthesising such bioactive compounds. Hence, the study of endophytes has drawn the attention of the scientific community in the last few decades. Among the endophytes, endophytic fungi constitute a major portion of endophytic microbiota. This review deals with a plethora of anti-cancer compounds derived from endophytic fungi, highlighting alkaloids, lignans, terpenes, polyketides, polyphenols, quinones, xanthenes, tetralones, peptides, and spirobisnaphthalenes. Further, this review emphasizes modern methodologies, particularly omics-based techniques, asymmetric dihydroxylation, and biotic elicitors, showcasing the dynamic and evolving landscape of research in this field and describing the potential of endophytic fungi as a source of anticancer drugs in the future.

Potential of Indonesian Herbal as an Anti-Cancer Therapy: A Systemic Review of in vitro Studies

Introduction

In the world, the second most common cause of mortality is cancer, and its prevalence is increasing in both developing and developed states. Cancer therapy has severe side effects for people with cancer. The selection of natural ingredients in the form of herbal plants is expected to provide therapeutic effectiveness with low side effects. A total of 6000 plant species are utilized as herbal medicines in Indonesia by the local population for various ailments.

Objective

To describe the potential of Indonesian herbal plant products as a cancer therapy in vitro.

Methods

This systematic review is based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA-SR) guidelines. The selection of articles published in the last 5 years (2018-2023) from Pubmed, Ebsco, Garuda portal, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, and Webscience was carried out in January 2023 with the keyword "Indonesian herbal" AND/OR "Anti-cancer" AND/OR "In Vitro". Risk of bias assessment using OHAT tools.

Results

A total of 1,816,511 articles then through inclusion, exclusion criteria screening, and the risk of bias were obtained 23 (twenty-three) low risk of bias articles. Some herbal plant products such as Soursop (Annona muricata L.), Nyamplung (Calophyllum spp.), Benalu Cengkeh/Clove Benalu (Dendrophthoe pentandra), Rumput Mutiara/Pearl Grass (Hedyotis corymbosa L.), Rasamala (Altingia excelsa), Sarang Semut/Anthill plant (Myrmecodia pendans), Basil (Ocimum sanctum Linn.), and Tepus (Zingiber griffithii) showed different potentials for activity as an in vitro anti-cancer therapy. The three Indonesian herbal plants that are most studied in vitro as anti-cancer are Soursop, Rasamala, and Benalu Cengkeh/Clove Benalu.

Conclusion

The most widely studied Indonesian herbal plant in vitro as an anti-cancer is Soursop, while the anti-cancer activity that is widely reported is by inhibiting cell proliferation through intrinsic pathways.

Evaluating the antioxidant activity of secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi from Hypericum perforatum L. by an electrochemical biosensor based on AuNPs/AC@CS composite

Due to the variety and activity of secondary metabolites of endophytic fungi (SMEF) from medicinal plants, and the operation cumbersome of existing methods for evaluating the activity, there is urgent to establish a simple, efficient and sensitive evaluation and screening technology. In this study, the prepared chitosan functionalized activated carbon (AC@CS) composite as the electrode substrate material was used to modify glassy carbon electrode (GCE), and the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was deposited on AC@CS/GCE by cyclic voltammetry (CV). A ds-DNA/AuNPs/AC@CS/GCE electrochemical biosensor for evaluating the antioxidant activity of SMEF from Hypericum perforatum L. (HP L.) was fabricated using the method of layer by layer assembly. The experimental conditions affecting the evaluation results of the biosensor were optimized by square wave voltammetry (SWV) using Ru(NH₃)₆³⁺ as the probe, and the antioxidant activity of various SMEF from HP L. was evaluated by the proposed biosensor. Meanwhile, the results of the biosensor were also verified by UV-vis. According to the optimized experimental results, the biosensors had a high levels of oxidative DNA damage at pH 6.0 and Fenton solution system with Fe²⁺ to OH^- ratio of 1:3 for 30 min. Among the crude extracts of SMEF from roots, stems and leaves of HP L., the crude extracts from stems presents a high antioxidant activity, but it was weaker than l-ascorbic acid. This result was consistent with the evaluation results of UV-vis spectrophotometric method, also the fabricated biosensor presents high stability and sensitivity. This study not only provides a novel, convenient and efficient way for rapid evaluating the antioxidant activity of a wide variety of SMEF from HP L., but also provides a novel evaluation strategy for the SMEF from medicinal plants.

Endophytic Colletotrichum (Sordariomycetes, Glomerellaceae) species associated with Citrus grandis cv. “Tomentosa” in China

Colletotrichum species are well-known plant pathogens, saprobes, endophytes, human pathogens and entomopathogens. However, little is known about Colletotrichum as endophytes of plants and cultivars including Citrus grandis cv. “Tomentosa”. In the present study, 12 endophytic Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from this host in Huazhou, Guangdong Province (China) in 2019. Based on morphology and combined multigene phylogeny [nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gapdh), chitin synthase 1 (chs-1), histone H3 (his3) actin (act), beta-tubulin (β-tubulin) and glutamine synthetase (gs)], six Colletotrichum species were identified, including two new species, namely Colletotrichum guangdongense and C. tomentosae. Colletotrichum asianum, C. plurivorum, C. siamense and C. tainanense are identified as being the first reports on C. grandis cv. “Tomentosa” worldwide. This study is the first comprehensive study on endophytic Colletotrichum species on C. grandis cv. “Tomentosa” in China.