Preclinical Development of Mahanine-Enriched Fraction from Indian Spice Murraya koenigii for the Management of Cancer: Efficacy, Temperature/pH stability, Pharmacokinetics, Acute and Chronic Toxicity (14-180 Days) Studies

Deciphering the growth stage specific bioactive diversity patterns in Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. using multivariate data analysis

The study was undertaken to characterize the total phenolics, flavonoids, essential oils, quinones, tannins and antioxidant activity of 15 samples of wild Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng. (MK) leaves obtained from different locations of Himachal Pradesh at various growth stages. The results indicated a significant variation in total phenolic content which ranged from [(170.09 ± 4.59 to 303.57 ± 7.94) in pre-flowering, (266.48 ± 7.49 to 450.01 ± 11.78) in the flowering stage, and (212.72 ± 5.37 to 363.85 ± 9.79) in fruiting stage], expressed as mg tannic acid equivalents (TAE)/g. The total flavonoid content ranged from [(15.17 ± 0.36 to 33.40 ± 0.81) in pre-flowering, (25.16 ± 0.67 to 58.17 ± 1.52) in flowering stage, and (17.54 ± 0.42 to 37.34 ± 0.97) in fruiting stage], expressed as mg catechin equivalent (CE)/g. Total tannin content ranged from [(75.75 ± 1.69 to 143 ± 3.74) in pre-flowering, (116 ± 3.26 to 207 ± 5.42) in the flowering stage, and (47 ± 1.18 to 156 ± 4.05) in fruiting stage], expressed as mg TAE/g. The essential oil content ranged from (0.64 ± 0.01 to 0.89 ± 0.02%) in pre-flowering, (0.85 ± 0.02 to 1 ± 0.02%) in flowering stage, and (0.54 ± 0.01 to 0.7 ± 0.01%) in fruiting stage. Quinones ranged from [(2.05 ± 0.05 to 2.97 ± 0.07) in pre-flowering, (3.07 ± 0.07 to 4.95 ± 0.13) in flowering stage, and (1.02 ± 0.02 to 1.96 ± 0.04) in fruiting stage], expressed as mM/min/g tissue. Antioxidant activity ranged from [(4.01 ± 0.09 to 7.42 ± 0.17) in pre-flowering, (8.08 ± 0.19 to 13.60 ± 0.35) in flowering stage, and (3.11 ± 0.06 to 6.37 ± 0.15) in fruiting stage], expressed as μg/ml. Data was subjected to multivariate analysis using principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). This was used for elucidating the intricate relationships between the phytochemical properties. All evaluated phytochemical parameters significantly increased during the growth transition from pre-flowering to the flowering stage, followed by their gradual decrease during the fruiting stage. The present study can serve as rationale for commercializing MK for aromatic and phytopharmaceutical industries.

Multi-Target Approach of Murraya koenigii Leaves in Treating Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) mainly affect neurons and gradually lead to a loss of normal motor and cognitive functions. Atypical protein homeostasis-misfolding, aggregations and accumulations, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis-are common features in most NDs. To date, due to the complex etiology and pathogenesis of NDs, no defined treatment is available. There has been increasing interest in plant extracts as potential alternative medicines as the presence of various active components may exert synergistic and multi-pharmacological effects. Murraya koenigii (Rutaceae) is utilized in Ayurvedic medicine for various ailments. Pharmacological studies evidenced its potential antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, and neuroprotective activities, among others. In line with our interest in exploring natural agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, this review presents an overview of literature concerning the mechanisms of action and the safety profile of significant bioactive components present in M. koenigii leaves to support further investigations into their neuroprotective therapeutic potential.

Desialylation of Atg5 by sialidase (Neu2) enhances autophagosome formation to induce anchorage-dependent cell death in ovarian cancer cells

Increased sialylation is one of the hallmarks of ovarian cancer (OC) but its relation with programmed cell death is not known. Here we explored the molecular interplay between autophagy, apoptosis/anoikis, and aberrant-expression of the PI3K-Akt/mTOR pathway in the context of sialidase. OC is accompanied by low expression of cytosolic sialidase (Neu2) and ~10-fold more α2,6- than α2,3-linked sialic acids found through qPCR, western blot, and flow cytometry. Interestingly, Neu2 overexpression cleaved α2,6- and α2,3-linked sialic acids and reduced cell viability. Several autophagy-related molecules like LC3B/Atg3/Atg5/Atg7/Atg12/Atg16L1/Beclin1 were upregulated upon Neu2 overexpression. Atg5, a crucial protein for autophagosome formation, was desialylated by overexpressed Neu2. Desialylated Atg5 now showed enhanced association both with Atg12 and Atg16L1 leading to more autophagosome formation. Neu2-overexpressing cells exhibited extrinsic pathway-mediated apoptosis as reflected the in activation of Fas/FasL/FADD/Bid/caspase 8/caspase 6/caspase 3/PARP cleavage. There was also increased Bax, reduced Bcl2, and several cell-cycle molecules (CDK2/CDK4/CDK6/cyclin-B1/cyclin-E). Inhibition of autophagy using bafilomycin A1 or Beclin1 siRNA leads to reversal of Neu2-induced apoptosis suggesting their possible relationship. Additionally, overexpressed Neu2 inhibited growth factor-mediated signaling molecules involved in the PI3K/Akt-mTOR pathway probably through their desialylation. Furthermore, overexpressed Neu2 inhibited epithelial (ZO-1/Claudin1), mesenchymal (snail/slug), and cell-adhesion (integrin-β3/focal-adhesion kinase) molecules suggesting anchorage-dependent cell death (anoikis). Such changes were absent in the presence of bafilomycin A1 indicating the involvement of autophagy in Neu2-induced anoikis. The physiological relevance of our in vitro observations was further confirmed in the OC xenograft model. Taken together, it is the first report demonstrating that Atg5 is a sialoglycoprotein having α2,6- and α2,3-linked sialic acids and its desialylation by overexpressed Neu2 leads to its activation for autophagosome formation, which induced apoptosis/anoikis in OC.