Leukemia Chemoprevention and Therapeutic Potentials: Selected Medicinal Plants with Anti-Leukemic Activities

Investigation of Epilobium hirsutum L. Optimized Extract's Anti-Inflammatory and Antitumor Potential

Epilobium hirsutum L., commonly known as hairy willowherb, is a perennial herbaceous plant native to Europe and Asia. In Romania, the Epilobium genus includes 17 species that are used in folk medicine for various purposes. This study aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory and antitumor potential of the optimized extract of Epilobium hirsutum (EH) in animal models. The first study investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of EH optimized extract and the model used was carrageenan-induced paw inflammation. Wistar rats were divided into three groups: negative control, positive control treated with indomethacin, and a group treated with the extract. Oxidative stress markers, cytokine levels, and protein expressions were assessed. The extract demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties comparable to those of the control group. In the second study, the antitumor effects of the extract were assessed using the tumor model of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma. Swiss albino mice with Ehrlich ascites were divided into four groups: negative, positive treated with cyclophosphamide (Cph), Group 3 treated with Cph and EH optimized extract, and Group 4 treated with extract alone. Samples from the ascites fluid, liver, and heart were analyzed to evaluate oxidative stress, inflammation, and cancer markers. The extract showed a reduction in tumor-associated inflammation and oxidative stress. Overall, the EH optimized extract exhibited promising anti-inflammatory and antitumor effects in the animal models studied. These findings suggest its potential as a natural adjuvant therapeutic agent for addressing inflammation and oxidative stress induced by different pathologies.

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of a New Series of 2-Pyrazolines as Potential Antileukemic Agents

In an attempt to identify small molecules for the treatment of leukemia, 12 new pyrazolines (2a-l) were synthesized efficiently. WST-1 assay was performed to examine their cytotoxic features on HL-60 human acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), K562 human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and THP-1 human acute monocytic leukemia cells. Four compounds (2e, 2f, 2g, and 2h) were determined as promising antileukemic agents on HL-60 and K562 cells. IC50 values of compounds 2f, 2h, 2e, 2g, and bortezomib for the HL-60 cell line were found as 33.52, 42.89, 48.02, 62.34, and 31.75 μM, while IC50 values of compounds 2h, 2g, 2f, 2e, and bortezomib for K562 cells were determined as 33.61, 50.23, 57.28, 76.90, and 42.69 μM, respectively. Further studies were carried out to shed light on the mechanism of antileukemic action. According to the data obtained by in vitro experiments, 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-(thiophen-3-yl)-5-(4-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)phenyl)-2-pyrazoline (2f) and 1-(3-bromophenyl)-3-(thiophen-3-yl)-5-(4-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)phenyl)-2-pyrazoline (2h) have proved to be potential antileukemic agents with remarkable cytotoxicity against HL-60 and K562 cells by activation of caspase 3, thereby inducing apoptosis.

The use of African medicinal plants in cancer management

Cancer is the third leading cause of premature death in sub-Saharan Africa. Cervical cancer has the highest number of incidences in sub-Saharan Africa due to high HIV prevalence (70% of global cases) in African countries which is linked to increasing the risk of developing cervical cancer, and the continuous high risk of being infected with Human papillomavirus In 2020, the risk of dying from cancer amongst women was higher in Eastern Africa (11%) than it was in Northern America (7.4%). Plants continue to provide unlimited pharmacological bioactive compounds that are used to manage various illnesses, including cancer. By reviewing the literature, we provide an inventory of African plants with reported anticancer activity and evidence supporting their use in cancer management. In this review, we report 23 plants that have been used for cancer management in Africa, where the anticancer extracts are usually prepared from barks, fruits, leaves, roots, and stems of these plants. Extensive information is reported about the bioactive compounds present in these plants as well as their potential activities against various forms of cancer. However, information on the anticancer properties of other African medicinal plants is insufficient. Therefore, there is a need to isolate and evaluate the anticancer potential of bioactive compounds from other African medicinal plants. Further studies on these plants will allow the elucidation of their anticancer mechanisms of action and allow the identification of phytochemicals that are responsible for their anticancer properties. Overall, this review provides consolidated and extensive information not only on diverse medicinal plants of Africa but on the different types of cancer that these plants are used to manage and the diverse mechanisms and pathways that are involved during cancer alleviation.

Development and evaluation of novel artemisinin-isatin hybrids with potential anti-leukemic cytotoxicity

Twenty-one novel ester tethered artemisinin-isatin hybrids were designed, synthesized and screened against human myeloid leukemia cell lines (K562 and K562/ADR), human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (CCRF-CEM) as well as normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for their cytotoxicity by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The structure-activity relationships (SARs) were also discussed to facilitate further rational design of more effective candidates. The preliminary results showed that most of the ester tethered artemisinin-isatin hybrids (IC₅₀: 0.32-29.35 µM) exhibited promising activity against CCRF-CEM cells, and some of them (IC₅₀: 1.23-49.84 µM) were also active against K562 and K562/ADR human myeloid leukemia cell lines. Among them, hybrid 7d (IC₅₀: 0.32, 2.67 and 1.23 µM) not only possessed profound activity against the three tested leukemia cell lines and excellent safety and selectivity profiles, but also showed promising pharmacokinetic properties. Accordingly, hybrid 7d could be considered as a potential lead molecule for the development of novel anti-leukemic agents with minimal untoward events to normal human cells.