Phytochemical analysis and evaluation of antibacterial activity of Moringa oleifera extracts against gram-negative bacteria: an in vitro and molecular docking studies

Moringa oleifera seed and leaf are used traditionally for the treatment of various health problems (among others, hypertension, scrapes, skin infection, diabetes, genitourinary illnesses), and to boost the immune system, as well as to act as a contraceptive. In this study, the antibacterial activity of seed and leaf M. oleifera extracts on three-gram negative bacteria was investigated, and phytochemical analysis for the association of antibacterial activity with the active constituents in the plant was determined. Moreover, understanding of the mechanism of action was achieved by applying the Auto Dock Vina technique. The phytochemical screening of M. oleifera seed and leaf extracts exhibited the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, cardioactive glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, phenols, steroids and terpenoids. In silico results revealed that compounds (4-O-caffeoyl quinic acid, 4-(α-L-rhamnopyranosyloxyl)-benzylisothiocyanate); (Isoquercitrin, 4-(α-L-rhamnopyranosyloxy) benzyl glucosinolate); and (Astragalin, 4-(α-L-rhamnopyranosyloxy) benzyl glucosinolate) from leaf and seed have the highest binding affinity and very good interactions with Transcriptional Activator Protein (LasR), Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC), and Malonyl-CoA-acyl carrier protein transacylase (FabD), respectively.

Cytotoxicity and apoptosis induction by Fumaria officinalis extracts in leukemia and multiple myeloma cell lines

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Fumaria officinalis (Fumariaceae) is recorded in the Kurdish ethnobotany for various health problems.

AIM OF THE STUDY

In this study, the cytotoxic activity of F. officinalis extracts on two leukemia and nine multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines was investigated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The cytotoxic and ferroptotic activity were examined by resazurin reduction assay. Flow cytometry, immunoblotting assay and fluorescence microscopy were used to measure cell cycle distribution, apoptosis, induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), loss integrity of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and autophagy. LC-ESI/MS was used to identify chemical constituents present in F. officinalis.

RESULTS

Chloroform (CF) and ethyl acetate (EF) fractions showed drastic cytotoxic effect on CCRF-CEM and CEM/ADR 5000 cells. NCI-H929 cell line exhibited higher sensitivity against CF, while EF demonstrated its higher cytotoxicity on OPM-2 cells with IC₅₀ value 14.80 ± 1.70 and 28.13 ± 1.38 μg/mL respectively. Flow cytometric and morphological studies confirmed that CF and EF induced apoptosis in NCI-H929 cells by loss of MMP, generation of ROS and obvious morphological variations. In DNA histograms, up to 50% of the cells were accumulated by CF and 44% by EF in the sub-G0/G1 phase following 72 h treatment. EF induced autophagic cell death, while CF stimulated iron-dependent cell death. Moreover, two isoquinoline alkaloids and four flavonoids were identified in the active fractions.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the cytotoxicity of F. officinalis extracts in MM cell lines. CF and EF fractions inhibited MM cell proliferation through various modes of actions.

Hegazy ME, Naqishbandi AM, Efferth T. Induction of Apoptosis, Autophagy and Ferroptosis by Thymus vulgaris and Arctium lappa Extract in Leukemia and Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines

Thymus vulgaris and Arctium lappa have been used as a folk remedy in the Iraqi Kurdistan region to deal with different health problems. The aim of the current study is to investigate the cytotoxicity of T. vulgaris and A. lappa in leukemia and multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines and determine the mode of cell death triggered by the most potent cytotoxic fractions of both plants in MM. Resazurin assay was used to evaluate cytotoxic and ferroptosis activity, apoptosis, and modulation in the cell cycle phase were investigated via Annexin V-FITC/PI dual stain and cell-cycle arrest assays. Furthermore, we used western blotting assay for the determination of autophagy cell death. n-Hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and butanol fractions of T. vulgaris and A. lappa exhibited cytotoxicity in CCRF-CEM and CEM/ADR 5000 cell lines at concentration range 0.001–100 μg/mL with potential activity revealed by chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions. NCI-H929 displayed pronounced sensitivity towards T. vulgaris (TCF) and A. lappa (ACF) chloroform fractions with IC₅₀ values of 6.49 ± 1.48 and 21.9 ± 0.69 μg/mL, respectively. TCF induced apoptosis in NCI-H929 cells with a higher ratio (71%), compared to ACF (50%) at 4 × IC₅₀. ACF demonstrated more potent autophagy activity than TCF. TCF and ACF induced cell cycle arrest and ferroptosis. Apigenin and nobiletin were identified in TCF, while nobiletin, ursolic acid, and lupeol were the main compounds identified in ACF. T. vulgaris and A. lappa could be considered as potential herbal drug candidates, which arrest cancer cell proliferation by induction of apoptosis, autophagic, and ferroptosis.

Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Effects of Antimalarial Herbal Mixtures

Many developing countries depend on herbal mixtures as the first line and cost-effective therapy for malaria. These mixtures with such curative tendencies may also be a source of toxicity to host cells. On the other hand, these mixtures may have anticancer potential activity characterized by cytotoxicity to cancer cells. The aim of the study was to determine the cytotoxic and antioxidant effects of five different antimalarial herbal mixtures. Five antimalarial herbal mixtures commonly used in Ghana (coded as STF, SMH, SMM, SGM, and STT) were purchased and freeze-dried. The dried samples were tested on human acute T-cell leukemia (Jurkat) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the tetrazolium-based colorimetric (MTT) assay while antioxidant activity was determined using DPPH free-radical scavenging assay. Among the mixtures, SMM and SGM exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity towards Jurkat cells (IC₅₀ values 59.17 μg/ml and 49.57 μg/ml, respectively), whereas STT showed the weakest cytotoxicity (IC₅₀ = 244.94 μg/ml). Cytotoxic effect of SMM was also strongest towards MCF-7 cells whilst the least cytotoxic sample was SGM (IC₅₀ > 1000 μg/ml). SMM had the highest antioxidant percentage (EC₅₀ = 1.05 mg/ml). The increasing order of antioxidant percentage among the five herbal mixtures is SMM > SMH > STT > STF > SGM. The herbal mixtures may be potential sources of toxic agents to host cells. Therefore, further toxicity studies must be performed to safeguard health of the public. Interestingly, cytotoxicities exhibited by SMM and SGM suggest the presence of anticancer constituents in them which warrant further studies.