Chemical constituents and anticancer activity of yellow camellias against MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells

Active fractions of golden-flowered tea (Camellia nitidissima Chi) inhibit epidermal growth factor receptor mutated non-small cell lung cancer via multiple pathways and targets in vitro and in vivo

As a medicine-food homology (MFH) plant, golden-flowered tea (Camellia nitidissima Chi, CNC) has many different pharmacologic activities and is known as "the queen of the tea family" and "the Panda of the Plant world". Several studies have revealed the pharmacologic effects of CNC crude extract, including anti-tumor, anti-oxidative and hepatoprotective activity. However, there are few studies on the anti-tumor active fractions and components of CNC, yet the underlying mechanism has not been investigated. Thus, we sought to verify the anti-non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) effects of four active fractions of CNC. Firstly, we determined the pharmacodynamic material basis of the four active fractions of CNC (Camellia. leave. saponins, Camellia. leave. polyphenols, Camellia. flower. saponins, Camellia. flower. polyphenols) by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and confirmed the differences in their specific compound contents. Then, MTT, colony formation assay and EdU incorporation assay confirmed that all fractions of CNC exhibit significant inhibitory on NSCLC, especially the Camellia. leave. saponins (CLS) fraction on EGFR mutated NSCLC cell lines. Moreover, transcriptome analysis revealed that the inhibition of NSCLC cell growth by CLS may be via three pathways, including "Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction," "PI3K-Akt signaling pathway" and "MAPK signaling pathway." Subsequently, quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blot (WB) revealed TGFB2, INHBB, PIK3R3, ITGB8, TrkB and CACNA1D as the critical targets for the anti-tumor effects of CLS in vitro. Finally, the xenograft models confirmed that CLS treatment effectively suppressed tumor growth, and the key targets were also verified in vivo. These observations suggest that golden-flowered tea could be developed as a functional tea drink with anti-cancer ability, providing an essential molecular mechanism foundation for MFH medicine treating NSCLC.

Application of FT-IR spectroscopy and chemometric technique for the identification of three different parts of Camellia nitidissima and discrimination of its authenticated product

Camellia nitidissima C.W. Chi is a golden camellia recognized in Chinese herbology and widely used as tea and essential oil in Chinese communities. Due to its diverse pharmacological properties, it can be used to treat various diseases. However, unethical sellers adulterated the flower with other parts of Camellia nitidissima in their product. This study used an integrated tri-step infrared spectroscopy method and a chemometric approach to distinguish C. nitidissima’s flowers, leaves, and seeds. The three different parts of C. nitidissima were well distinguished using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), second-derivative infrared (SD-IR) spectra, and two-dimensional correlation infrared (2D-IR) spectra. The FT-IR and SD-IR spectra of the samples were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA), PCA-class, and orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) for classification and discrimination studies. The three parts of C. nitidissima were well separated and discriminated by PCA and OPLS-DA. The PCA-class model’s sensitivity, accuracy, and specificity were all >94%, indicating that PCA-class is the good model. In addition, the RMSEE, RMSEP, and RMSECV values for the OPLS-DA model were low, and the model’s sensitivity, accuracy, and specificity were all 100%, showing that it is the excellent one. In addition, PCA-class and OPLS-DA obtained scores of 27/32 and 26/32, respectively, for detecting adulterated and other TCM reference flower samples from C. nitidissima. Combining an infrared spectroscopic method with a chemometric approach proved that it is possible to differentiate distinct sections of C. nitidissima and discriminate adulterated samples of C.nitidissima flower.

Dark Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) Phenolics Enriched in Anthocyanins Induced Apoptosis in MDA-MB-453 Breast Cancer Cells through MAPK-Dependent Signaling and Reduced Invasion via Akt and PLCγ-1 Downregulation

Dark sweet cherries (DSCs) are rich source of phenolics known to exert anticancer and anti-invasive activities. This study elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying the activity of DSC phenolics against MDA-MB-453 breast cancer cells In Vitro. Cells were treated with DSC phenolics in whole extract (WE), and fractions enriched in anthocyanins (ACN) and proanthocyanidins (PCN) at concentrations that inhibited cell growth by 50%. Results showed that DSC phenolics suppressed Akt and PLCγ-1 activation, and inhibited cell motility and invasion, but only ACN reached significance. The extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways were also activated by DSC phenolics via caspase-8 cleavage and increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, with ACN exhibiting significant activation and stronger PARP-1 cleavage. Furthermore, sustained activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) ERK1/2 and p38 was observed wherein ERK1/2 (U0126) and p38 (SB203580) inhibitors confirmed crosstalk ERK1/2-Akt and MAPK intrinsic mitochondrial pathways. In conclusion, DSC phenolics inhibited MDA-MB-453 breast cancer cells by targeting cell signaling pathways that induce apoptosis and suppress cell invasion, with ACN showing enhanced chemopreventive activities.

Essential oils and ethanol extract from Camellia nitidissima and evaluation of their biological activity

Camellia nitidissima, a well-known species of yellow Camellia, has undergone commercial cultivation as a new tea resource recently. Herein, the composition, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the essential oil and ethanol extract of C. nitidissima were investigated. The essential oils from the leaves and flowers of C. nitidissima were obtained by hydro-distillation. A total of 56 and 34 constituents accounting for 77.5 and 96.8% of the oils were identified by GC-MS. Linalool (35.8%), phytol (7.9%), cis-geranyl acetone (7.3%) and methyl salicylate (6.8%) were found to be the primary components in the leaf oil, while the flower oil was rich in α-eudesmol (34.3%), γ-eudesmol (31.5%) and linalool (11.1%). The ethanol extract of C. nitidissima leaves contained 281.04 mg gallic acid equivalent/g of total phenols. The antioxidant activities of the two oils and extract were evaluated by DPPH and ABTS radical-scavenging assays. The IC50 values varied from 17.4 (extract) to 720.3 μg/mL (flower oil) for DPPH and from 28.8(extract) to 889.6 μg/mL (flower oil) for ABTS. Both essential oils exhibited moderate antioxidant activities, and the extract possessed strong effects close to ascorbic acid. Additionally, the antimicrobial activities of the oils and extract against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were evaluated by agar dilution assay. No considerable bactericidal activities were observed for either essential oil or extract compared with ampicillin and tobramycin standards. The results indicated the extract was more efficient than the two essential oils against S. aureus (MIC = 0.625 mg/mL) and B. subtilis (MIC = 1.25 mg/mL).

Linear Graphene Nanocomposite Synthesis and an Analytical Application for the Amino Acid Detection of Camellia nitidissima Chi Seeds

Husk derived amino modified linear graphene nanocomposites (aLGN) with a diameter range of 80-300 nm and a length range of 100-300 μm were prepared by a modified Hummers method, ammonia treatment, NaBH₄ reduction and phenylalanine induced assembly processes, etc. The resulting composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), biological microscope (BM), and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), etc. Investigations found that the aLGN can serve as the novel coating of stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) technology. By combing this technology with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the combined SBSE/GC-MS technology with an aLGN coating can detect seventeen kinds of amino acids of Camellia nitidissima Chi seeds, including Ala, Gly, Thr, Ser, Val, Leu, Ile, Cys, Pro, Met, Asp, Phe, Glu, Lys, Tyr, His, and Arg. Compared to a conventional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating, an aLGN coating for SBSE exhibited a better thermal desorption performance, better analytes fragmentation depressing efficiencies, higher peak intensities, and superior amino acid discrimination, leading to a practicable and highly distinguishable method for the variable amino acid detection of Camellia nitidissima Chi seeds.

Evaluation of the Anxiolytic and Antidepressant Activities of the Aqueous Extract from Camellia euphlebia Merr. ex Sealy in Mice

Camellia euphlebia Merr. ex Sealy is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been widely used for improvement of human emotions in the Guangxi Province of southern China. However, there are no studies about the anxiolytic and antidepressant activities of Camellia euphlebia. This study evaluated the anxiolytic and antidepressant activities of the aqueous extract from Camellia euphlebia (CEE) in mice. We found that administration of 400 mg/kg CEE or 20 mg/kg fluoxetine for 7 days significantly reduced the immobility time in both TST and FST. Oral administration of 100 mg/kg extract or 4 mg/kg diazepam for 7 days significantly increased the percentage of time spent and the number of entries into the open arms of the EPMT. In addition, the time spent by mice in the illuminated side of the LDBT was increased. Furthermore, pretreatment with 400 mg/kg CEE for 7 days significantly elevated the level of 5-HT and DA in the whole brain of mice. These results provide support for the potential anxiolytic and antidepressant activity of Camellia euphlebia and contribute towards validation of the traditional use of Camellia euphlebia in the treatment of emotional disorders.