Screening of plants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest led to the identification of Athenaea velutina (Solanaceae) as a novel source of antimetastatic agents

A Withanolide-rich Fraction of Athenaea velutina Induces Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest in Melanoma B16F10 Cells

Athenaea velutina is a promising Brazilian shrub with cytotoxic and antimigratory properties against cancer cells. However, the mechanism of induction of cancer cell death and the compounds involved remain unknown. To ascertain these bioactive compounds, bioassay-guided fractionation was performed, alongside the appropriate in vitro tests. A withanolide-rich fraction (FAv_5) from the dichloromethane extract increased cytotoxic activity by 1.5-fold (IC₅₀ = 2.1 µg/mL). Fourteen withanolide steroids were tentatively identified for the first time for this species by mass spectrometry coupled to liquid chromatography (LC MS/MS), including withanolide A, aurelianolide A, and aurelianolide B. FAv_5 significantly decreased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion with a selectivity index greater than 8 for B16F10 cells. Furthermore, flow cytometry with annexin V fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide (V-FITC/PI) staining showed FAv_5 to promote cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1-phase as well as apoptotic cell death. Overall, these findings highlight A. velutina as a source of withanolide-steroids that inhibit cancer cell proliferation through apoptosis and cell cycle blockade mechanisms. Details on the geographic distribution of A. velutina and species conservation strategies have also been highlighted.

Recent Advances in the Antiproliferative and Proapoptotic Activity of Various Plant Extracts and Constituents against Murine Malignant Melanoma

Although conventional medicine, chemical drug synthesis and pharmaceutical research are advancing at a rapid pace, nature remains a major supplier of biological molecules. Natural bioactive compounds are studied closely especially as an alternative to the limitations of conventional therapy in many diseases, melanoma being one of them. Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive type of cancer, and the current methods of treatment used are cryotherapy, external surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy, biological therapy, and targeted drug therapy. Unfortunately, these treatment methods are often inefficient, extremely expensive and cause many side effects, which is why focusing on melanoma chemoprevention and adjuvant therapy with natural herbal phytoconstituents is an emerging strategy to prevent, cure or treat melanoma. This review aims to examine the latest discoveries in terms of potential natural bioactive compounds that possess important activity against the development and spread of murine melanoma cancer. In particular, the use of different phytochemicals such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, anthocyanins, terpenoids, essential oils and carotenoids in vitro and in vivo models will be discussed. These data are helpful in guiding researchers in the direction of studying phytonutrients with important effects in the prevention and treatment of melanoma.

Hidden in Plants-A Review of the Anticancer Potential of the Solanaceae Family in In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Many of the anticancer agents that are currently in use demonstrate severe side effects and encounter increasing resistance from the target cancer cells. Thus, despite significant advances in cancer therapy in recent decades, there is still a need to discover and develop new, alternative anticancer agents. The plant kingdom contains a range of phytochemicals that play important roles in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. The Solanaceae family is widely used in the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, due to its bioactive ingredient content. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the antitumour activity of Solanaceae extracts-single isolated compounds and nanoparticles with extracts-and their synergistic effect with chemotherapeutic agents in various in vitro and in vivo cancer models. In addition, the biological properties of many plants of the Solanaceae family have not yet been investigated, which represents a challenge and an opportunity for future anticancer therapy.

Synthesis of cinnamic acid ester derivatives with antiproliferative and antimetastatic activities on murine melanoma cells

Melanoma is the most aggressive skin cancer, and its incidence has continued to rise during the past decades. Conventional treatments present severe side effects in cancer patients, and melanoma can be refractory to commonly used anticancer drugs, which justify the efforts to find new potential anti-melanoma drugs. An alternative to promote the discovery of new pharmacological substances would be modifying chemical groups from a bioactive compound. Here we describe the synthesis of seventeen compounds derived from cinnamic acid and their bioactivity evaluation against melanoma cells. The compound phenyl 2,3-dibromo-3-phenylpropanoate (3q) was the most effective against murine B16-F10 cells, as observed in cytotoxicity and cell migration assays. Simultaneously, this compound showed low cytotoxic activity on non-tumor cells. At the highest concentration, the compound 3q was able to trigger apoptosis, whereas, at lower concentrations, it affected the cell cycle and melanoma cell proliferation. Furthermore, cinnamate 3q impaired cell invasion, adhesion, colonization, and actin polymerization. In conclusion, these results highlight the antiproliferative and antimetastatic potential of cinnamic acid derivatives on melanoma.

A pharmacognostic approach for mitigating pancreatic cancer: emphasis on herbal extracts and phytoconstituents

Background

Pancreatic cancer is studied as one of the most lethal cancers with currently no control of its lethality, mainly due to its late diagnosis and lack of foolproof treatment processes. Despite continuous efforts being made in looking for therapies to deal with cancer, it keeps on being a labyrinth for the researchers. Efforts like discovering new treatment options, repurposing existing drugs, are continuously made to deal with this cancer.

Main body

With the urge to get answers and the fact that nature has all roots of therapeutics, efforts are made in the direction of finding those answers for providing ministrations for pancreatic cancer from plant products. Plant products are used as treatment options either directly in the form of extracts or an alternative to them is individual phytochemicals that are either isolated from the plants or are commercially synthesized for various purposes. In this review, we put forward such pharmacognostic initiatives made in combating pancreatic cancer, focusing mainly on plant extracts and various phytochemicals; along with the mechanisms which they triggered to fulfill the need for cytotoxicity to pancreatic cancer cells (in vitro and in vivo).

Conclusion

This study will thus provide insights into new combination therapy that can be used and also give a clue on which plant product and phytoconstituent can be used in dealing with pancreatic cancer.

Graphical abstract

Screening of plants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest led to the identification of Athenaea velutina (Solanaceae) as a novel source of antimetastatic agents

Plant biodiversity is a source of potential natural products for the treatment of many diseases. One of the ways of discovering new drugs is through the cytotoxic screening of extract libraries. The present study evaluated 196 extracts prepared by maceration of Brazilian Atlantic Forest trees with organic solvents and distilled water for cytotoxic and antimetastatic activity. The MTT assay was used to screen the extract activity in MCF-7, HepG2 and B16F10 cancer cells. The highest cytotoxic extract had antimetastatic activity, as determined in in vitro assays and melanoma murine model. The organic extract of the leaves of Athenaea velutina (EAv) significantly inhibited migration, adhesion, invasion and cell colony formation in B16F10 cells. The phenolic compounds and flavonoids in EAv were identified for the first time, using flow injection with electrospray negative ionization-ion trap tandem mass spectrometry analysis (FIA-ESI-IT-MSn ). EAv markedly suppressed the development of pulmonary melanomas following the intravenous injection of melanoma cells to C57BL/6 mice. Stereological analysis of the spleen cross-sections showed enlargement of the red pulp area after EAv treatment, which indicated the activation of the haematopoietic system. The treatment of melanoma-bearing mice with EAv did not result in liver damage. In conclusion, these findings suggest that A velutina is a source of natural products with potent antimetastatic activity.