Effects of Calophyllum inophyllum fruit extract on the proliferation and morphological characteristics of human breast cancer cells MCF-7

Antimicrobial Properties of Compounds Isolated from Syzygium malaccense (L.) Merr. and L.M. Perry and Medicinal Plants Used in French Polynesia

A preliminary ethnopharmacological survey, achieved in French Polynesia, led to the collection of the most cited plants among 63 species used to treat “infectious” diseases, with a description of their medicinal uses. Bibliographical investigations and antimicrobial screening permitted the selection of the botanical species Syzygium malaccense (Myrtaceae) for phytochemical analysis. Leaves of Syzygium malaccense were usually used in mixture with rhizomes of Curcuma longa to treat infectious diseases such as cystitis. The methanolic plant extracts were tested in vitro with an agar microdilution method on 33 bacteria strains and 1 yeast to obtain their Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), and cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells were evaluated. Antimicrobial synergistic effects of methanolic plant extracts from leaves of Syzygium malaccense and rhizomes from Curcuma longa were also evaluated. The bio-guided isolation of leaf extract from Syzygium malaccense led to the identification of seven alkyl-salicylic acids (anacardic acids or ginkgolic acids C15:0, C15:1, C17:0, C17:1, C17:2, C17:3 and C19:1) described for the first time in this species. All compounds were tested against Staphylococcus aureus (18.75 < MIC < 75.0 µg/mL), Streptococcus pyogenes (2.34 < MIC < 18.75 µg/mL) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC = 150 µg/mL), and their structure−activity relationships were discussed. The methanolic extract and salicylic derivatives from S. malaccense showed an interesting antimicrobial activity against Gram+ bacteria, without toxicity on hepG2 cells at 400 μg/mL. Moreover, these antibacterial compounds have already been studied for their anti-inflammatory activity, which supports the therapeutic interest of S. malaccense against infectious diseases.

Anticancer Activities of Sesewanua Leaf Extracts (Clerodendrum fragrans (Vent.) Willd) Against A549 Lung Cancer Cell

BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the leading causes of non-communicable diseases in the world, with about 10 million deaths worldwide in 2020. Lung cancer was the most common type of cancer and the highest cause of death. Therapy for lung cancer can be either conventional therapy or molecular targeted therapy that has many limitations. AIM: It is, therefore, important to explore new sources of anticancer activity, including those from plants. One plant that is thought to have anticancer activity is Sesewanua (Clerodendrum fragrans [Vent.] Willd. Syn. Clerodendrum chinense [Osbeck] Mabb., Family Lamiaceae). METHODS: This research is a laboratory experiment. The sample used is the C. fragrans leaves obtained in Malalayang I Timur Village, Malalayang District, Manado City, North Sulawesi Province, while the subjects in this study were A549 lung cancer cells from Cell-Culture Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Padjadjaran Bandung. Anticancer activity test was using the MTT tetrazolium assay method. Data in the form of a percentage (%) inhibition of cell proliferation, then determined the value the concentration of 50% proliferation inhibition (IC50) using a computer program online. RESULTS: The results showed that ethanol extract, hexane fraction, ethyl acetate fraction, and water-soluble fraction of C. fragrans had anticancer activity on A549 lung cancer cells. The smallest IC50 value is indicated by ethyl acetate fraction (191, 165 ppm), which is categorized as moderately active.

The Malaysian genus Calophyllum (Calophyllaceae): a review on its phytochemistry and pharmacological activities

Genus Calophyllum from the family of Calophyllaceae is an evergreen broad-leaved tree that is endemic to Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia. They have been reported for various ethnomedicinal uses in traditional medicine. Previous studies of Malaysian Calophyllum species revealed them to be a rich source of bioactive phytoconstituents such as xanthones, coumarins, terpenoids, and chromanone acids. To date, the extracts and compounds from Malaysian Calophyllum species have shown a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities. For example, calanolide A, a coumarin isolated from Malaysian C. lanigerum, has now reached clinical development to become an anti-HIV drug. This article presents an overview of the significant phytochemical and pharmacological activities of Malaysian Calophyllum species to aid researchers in further discovery of potential benefits of various species of this genus.

10H-3,6-Diazaphenothiazines triggered the mitochondrial-dependent and cell death receptor-dependent apoptosis pathways and further increased the chemosensitivity of MCF-7 breast cancer cells via inhibition of AKT1 pathways

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death in cancer categories, followed by lung, colorectal, and ovarian among the female gender across the world. 10H-3,6-diazaphenothiazine (PTZ) is a thiazine derivative compound that exhibits many pharmacological activities. Herein, we proceed to investigate the pharmacological activities of PTZ toward breast cancer MCF-7 cells as a representative in vitro breast cancer cell model. The PTZ exhibited a proliferation inhibition (IC50  = 0.895 µM) toward MCF-7 cells. Further, cell cycle analysis illustrated that the S-phase checkpoint was activated to achieve proliferation inhibition. In vitro cytotoxicity test on three normal cell lines (HEK293 normal kidney cells, MCF-10A normal breast cells, and H9C2 normal heart cells) demonstrated that PTZ was more potent toward cancer cells. Increase in the levels of reactive oxygen species results in polarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), together with suppression of mitochondrial thioredoxin reductase enzymatic activity suggested that PTZ induced oxidative damages toward mitochondria and contributed to improved drug efficacy toward treatment. The RT2 PCR Profiler Array (human apoptosis pathways) proved that PTZ induced cell death via mitochondria-dependent and cell death receptor-dependent pathways, through a series of modulation of caspases, and the respective morphology of apoptosis was observed. Mechanistic studies of apoptosis suggested that PTZ inhibited AKT1 pathways resulting in enhanced drug efficacy despite it preventing invasion of cancer cells. These results showed the effectiveness of PTZ in initiation of apoptosis, programmed cell death, toward highly chemoresistant MCF-7 cells, thus suggesting its potential as a chemotherapeutic drug.

Anticancer Activity and Molecular Mechanism of Polyphenol Rich Calophyllum inophyllum Fruit Extract in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

This study was conducted to investigate the anticancer effects and mechanism of Calophyllum inophyllum fruit extract against MCF-7 cells. C. inophyllum fruit extract was found to have markedly cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner with the IC₅₀ for 24 h of 23.59 µg/mL. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that C. inophyllum fruit extract mediated cell cycle at G₀/G₁ and G₂/M phases, and MCF-7 cells entered the early phase of apoptosis. The expression of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 was decreased whereas the expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax, cytochrome C and p53 were increased after treatment. C. inophyllum fruit extract led to apoptosis in MCF-7 cells via the mitochondrial pathway in a dose dependent manner. This is evidenced by the elevation of intracellular ROS, the loss of mitochondria membrane potential (Δψm), and activation of caspase-3. Meanwhile, dose-dependent genomic DNA fragmentation was observed after C. inophyllum fruits extract treatment by comet assay. This study shows that C. inophyllum fruits extract-induced apoptosis is primarily p53 dependent and mediated through the activation of caspase-3. C. inophyllum fruit extract could be an excellent source of chemopreventive agent in the treatment of breast cancer and has potential to be explored as green anticancer agent.