Comparative Pre-clinical Efficacy of Chinese and Indian Cultivars of Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia) against Pancreatic Cancer

Importance of Certain Varieties of Cucurbits in Enhancing Health: A Review

The Cucurbitaceae family is an extensive group of fruits and vegetables that exhibit common characteristics; for example, they are farmed on a global scale and exhibit a wide range of applications, including fresh consumption and use in various food and beverage products. As is frequent, many species or genera share a common name, and this can lead to some confusion when looking for information about a specific variety. In this review, we describe the findings about the biological activity, like antibacterial, antiviral, antidiabetic, and anticancer properties, of two genera of this family, Cucumis and Momordica, which have been characterized and evaluated in several research studies and regarding which information is readily accessible. Those activities rely on the various physicochemical qualities and nutritional content of each variety, including factors like β-carotene and polyphenols, among others. The goal of this review is to provide a rapid search for each activity examined in the literature, enabling future research on their potential uses in functional foods and nutraceutical supplements.

Phytochemicals as Immunomodulatory Molecules in Cancer Therapeutics

Phytochemicals are natural plant-derived products that provide significant nutrition, essential biomolecules, and flavor as part of our diet. They have long been known to confer protection against several diseases via their anti-inflammatory, immune-regulatory, anti-microbial, and several other properties. Deciphering the role of phytochemicals in the prevention, inhibition, and treatment of cancer-unrestrained cell proliferation due to the loss of tight regulation on cell growth and replication-has been the focus of recent research. Particularly, the immunomodulatory role of phytochemicals, which is pivotal in unchecked cell proliferation and metastasis, has recently been studied extensively. The immune system is a critical component of the tumor microenvironment, and it plays essential roles in both preventing and promoting oncogenesis. Immunomodulation includes stimulation, amplification, or inactivation of some stage(s) of the immune response. Phytochemicals and their products have demonstrated immune regulation, such as macrophage migration, nitric oxide synthase inhibition, lymphocyte, T-cell, and cytokine stimulation, natural killer cell augmentation, and NFκB, TNF, and apoptosis regulation. There is a dearth of extensive accounts of the immunomodulatory effects of phytochemicals in cancer; thus, we have compiled these effects with mechanistic aspects of dietary phytochemicals in cancer, highlighting promising candidates and ongoing clinical trials on immunotherapeutic strategies to mitigate oncogenesis.

The Role of Bitter Melon in Breast and Gynecological Cancer Prevention and Therapy

Phytotherapy has long represented a widely accepted treatment alternative to conventional therapy. Bitter melon is a vine with potent antitumor effects against numerous cancer entities. To date, no review article has, however, been published on the role of bitter melon in breast and gynecological cancer prevention and therapy. The current work constitutes the most comprehensive, up-to-date review of the literature, which highlights the promising anticancer effects of bitter melon on breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer cells and discusses future research recommendations.

Acacetin induces sustained ERK1/2 activation and RIP1-dependent necroptotic death in breast cancer cells

Acacetin (AC), a naturally occurring flavonoid has shown anticancer potential. Herein, we studied the mechanisms of cell death and growth inhibition by AC in breast carcinoma T-47D and MDA-MB-231 cells. AC (10-40 μM) significantly decreased the levels of G2/M phase cyclins and CDKs, simultaneously increasing the expression of CDK inhibitors including Cip1/p21. A concentration-dependent increase in cell death was noted in both breast cancer cell lines with no such considerable effects on MCF-10A non-tumorigenic breast cells. The cell death-inducing potential of AC was further confirmed using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. AC resulted in mitochondrial superoxide generation, DNA damage, and ROS generation. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) pre-treatment inhibited ROS generation and partially reversed ERK1/2 activation as well as cell death by AC. Further, AC enhanced the expression of RIP1 and RIP3, which mediate necroptosis. RIP1-specific inhibitor Necrostatin-1 (NS-1) reversed the AC-induced DNA damage and cell death. Collectively, these findings, for the first time, suggested that AC exerts its antitumor potential through ROS induction and RIP1-dependent necroptosis in breast carcinoma cells.