A flavonoid compound from Chrysosplenium nudicaule inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of the human stomach cancer cell line SGC-7901

Hispidulin Enhances Temozolomide (TMZ)-Induced Cytotoxicity against Malignant Glioma Cells In Vitro by Inhibiting Autophagy

Temozolomide (TMZ), an oral alkylating agent, is the widely used first-line chemotherapeutic reagent for glioma in clinical practice. However, TMZ-induced autophagy is another cellular process favoring glioma cell survival. This study aimed to explore whether hispidulin can facilitate TMZ-induced cell death of glioma. The MTT assay showed that coadministration with hispidulin and TMZ could significantly decrease the viability of glioma U87MG cells. Meanwhile, hispidulin administration was also observed to promote TMZ-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, additional hispidulin treatment further elevated TMZ-induced expression of Bax, cleaved-caspase-9, and cleaved-caspase-3 protein but decreased Bcl-2 protein expression in U87MG cells. We also observed that hispidulin suppressed TMZ-induced autophagy to promote apoptosis, as showed by decreased AVOs and LC3B-I/II protein expression. These results collectively suggested that the combination of hispidulin and TMZ could improve the antitumor efficiency of TMZ against malignant gliomas.

A review of the genus Chrysosplenium as a traditional Tibetan medicine and its preparations

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Plants of genus Chrysosplenium have a long history of application and are distributed in many countries, especially in Tibetan regions of China. The genus has been used locally in the treatment of various hepatobiliary diseases such as "Chiba disease" (related to cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, acute icteric hepatitis, and acute liver necrosis in modern medicine).

AIM OF THE REVIEW

This review summarizes and critically analyzes the aspects of the botanical morphology and distribution, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, quality control, and development status of preparations of the genus Chrysosplenium. Moreover, the future research direction and focus of the genus are also discussed. We hope to provide a valuable reference for researchers who are interested in the genus Chrysosplenium.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The relevant information of the genus Chrysosplenium was gathered through electronic databases from 1968 to 2021, including PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Springer, CNKI, and Wan Fang, as well as PhD, MSc thesis, Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition), Tibetan medicine monographs. In addition, plant names were verified by "The Plant List" (The Plant List Database, http://www.theplantlist.org).

RESULTS

Based on existing studies of chemical compositions, more than 90 compounds have been identified from Chrysosplenium species, including flavonoids, triterpenoids, volatile oils, steroids, alkaloids, and other compounds. The highly hydroxylated and methoxylated flavonoids and triterpenoids are the main active components. In addition, many studies have shown that the extracts and some components isolated from the genus Chrysosplenium have a variety of pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, antibacterial, anti-viral, hepatoprotective, and insecticidal properties. Furthermore, there are only 9 preparations with Chrysosplenium species as one of the medicinal materials. Among these preparations, C. nudicaule is used more and other Chrysosplenium species are rarely involved.

CONCLUSIONS

Most medicinal species of Chrysosplenium have not only good therapeutic effects in traditional uses, but also a great potential for development in modern pharmaceutical studies. However, the material basis and mechanism of action of this genus have not been well explained. Therefore, further systematic and comprehensive research on the genus Chrysosplenium is still required to provide a scientific basis for its clinical applications.

Review On Documented Medicinal Plants Used For The Treatment Of Cancer

Background:

Cancer is a frightful disease and it is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Naturally derived compounds are gaining interest of research workers as they have less toxic side effects as compared to currently used treatments such as chemotherapy. Plants are the pool of chemical compounds which provides a promising future for research on cancer.

Objective:

This review paper provides updated information gathered on medicinal plants and isolated phytoconstituents used as anticancer agents and summarises the plant extracts and their isolated chemical constituents exhibiting anticancer potential on clinical trials.

Methods:

An extensive bibliographic investigation was carried out by analysing worldwide established scientific databases like SCOPUS, PUBMED, SCIELO, ScienceDirect, Springerlink, Web of Science, Wiley, SciFinder and Google Scholar etc. In next few decades, herbal medicine may become a new epoch of medical system.

Results:

Many researches are going on medicinal plants for the treatment of cancer but it is a time to increase further experimental studies on plant extracts and their chemical constituents to find out their mechanism of action at molecular level.

Conclusion:

The article may help many researchers to start off further experimentation that might lead to the drugs for the cancer treatment.

Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Chrysosplenium nudicaule (Saxifragaceae)

Chrysosplenium nudicaule Bunge, Tibetan name ‘Yajima,’ growing in the highlands of China is a perennial herb belonging to the genus Chrysosplenium Saxifragaceae. As a traditional Chinese medicine, it has been used to treat digestive diseases for hundreds of years. The complete chloroplast genome of Chrysosplenium nudicaule is 152,775 bp in length and comprises two inverted repeats (IR, 25,962 bp), a large single-copy region (LSC, 83,533 bp), and a small single-copy region (SSC, 17,318 bp). It harbors 112 genes, including 78 protein-coding genes, four ribosomal RNA genes, and 30 transfer RNA genes. In addition, the rpl32 gene was deleted. The GC content of the whole chloroplast genome is 37.54%. This chloroplast genome resource will be useful for study on the evolution and genetic diversity of C. nudicaule in the future.

Potential of Bioactive Food Components against Gastric Cancer: Insights into Molecular Mechanism and Therapeutic Targets

Gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Accumulated evidence and epidemiological studies have indicated that bioactive food components from natural products play an important role in gastric cancer prevention and treatment, although its mechanism of action has not yet been elucidated. Particularly, experimental studies have shown that natural bioactive food products display a protective effect against gastric cancer via numerous molecular mechanisms, such as suppression of cell metastasis, anti-angiogenesis, inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, and modulation of autophagy. Chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for advanced gastric cancer along with surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, as well as immunotherapy, and its adverse side effects including neutropenia, stomatitis, mucositis, diarrhea, nausea, and emesis are well documented. However, administration of naturally occurring bioactive phytochemical food components could increase the efficacy of gastric chemotherapy and other chemotherapeutic resistance. Additionally, several studies have suggested that bioactive food components with structural stability, potential bioavailability, and powerful bioactivity are important to develop novel treatment strategies for gastric cancer management, which may minimize the adverse effects. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to summarize the potential therapeutic effects of natural bioactive food products on the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer with intensive molecular mechanisms of action, bioavailability, and safety efficacy.

Recent Research on Flavonoids and their Biomedical Applications

Flavonoids, commonly found in various plants, are a class of polyphenolic compounds having a basic structural unit of 2-phenylchromone. Flavonoid compounds have attracted much attention due to their wide biological applications. In order to facilitate further research on the biomedical application of flavonoids, we surveyed the literature published on the use of flavonoids in medicine during the past decade, documented the commonly found structures in natural flavonoids, and summarized their pharmacological activities as well as associated mechanisms of action against a variety of health disorders including chronic inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular complications and hypoglycemia. In this mini-review, we provide suggestions for further research on the biomedical applications of flavonoids.

The Potential Anticancer Activity of Phytoconstituents against Gastric Cancer-A Review on In Vitro, In Vivo, and Clinical Studies

Gastric cancer belongs to the heterogeneous malignancies and, according to the World Health Organization, it is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. The aim of this review is to provide an overview on the role of natural products of plant origin in the therapy of gastric cancer and to present the potentially active metabolites which can be used in the natural therapeutical strategies as the support to the conventional treatment. Many of the naturally spread secondary metabolites have been proved to exhibit chemopreventive properties when tested on the cell lines or in vivo. This manuscript aims to discuss the pharmacological significance of both the total extracts and the single isolated metabolites in the stomach cancer prevention and to focus on their mechanisms of action. A wide variety of plant-derived anticancer metabolites from different groups presented in the manuscript that include polyphenols, terpenes, alkaloids, or sulphur-containing compounds, underlines the multidirectional nature of natural products.

Traditional Tibetan Medicine in Cancer Therapy by Targeting Apoptosis Pathways

Cancer is a leading cause of death around the world. Apoptosis, one of the pathways of programmed cell death, is a promising target for cancer therapy. Traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) has been used by Tibetan people for thousands of years, and many TTMs have been proven to be effective in the treatment of cancer. This paper summarized the medicinal plants with anticancer activity in the Tibetan traditional system of medicine by searching for Tibetan medicine monographs and drug standards and reviewing modern research literatures. Forty species were found to be effective in treating cancer. More importantly, some TTMs (e.g., Ophiocordyceps sinensis, Phyllanthus emblica L. and Rhodiola kirilowii (Regel) Maxim.) and their active ingredients (e.g., cordycepin, salidroside, and gallic acid) have been reported to possess anticancer activity by targeting some apoptosis pathways in cancer, such as Bcl-2/Bax, caspases, PI3K/Akt, JAK2/STAT3, MAPK, and AMPK. These herbs and natural compounds would be potential drug candidates for the treatment of cancer.

Traditional Tibetan medicinal plants: a highlighted resource for novel therapeutic compounds

Around 70-80% of drugs used in traditional Tibetan medicine (TTM) come from Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the majority of which are plants. The biological and medicinal culture diversity on Qinghai Tibet Plateau are amazing and constitute a less tapped resource for innovative drug research and development. Meanwhile, the problem of the exhausting Tibetan medicine resources is worrying. Here, the latest awareness, as well as the gaps of the traditional Tibetan medicinal plant issues in drug development and clinical usage of TTM compounds, was systematically reviewed and highlighted. The TTM resource studies should be enhanced within the context of deeper and more extensive investigations of molecular biology and genomics of TTM plants, phytometabolites and metabolomics and ethnopharmacology-based bioactivity, thus enabling the sustainable conservation and exploitation of Tibetan medicinal resource.

Ultrasound hyperthermia induces apoptosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: An in vitro study

Background

Hyperthermia is considered an efficient complement in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Hyperthermia induces cell apoptosis in a temperature- and time-dependent manner. However, the molecular mechanism of hyperthermia remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of apoptosis induced by ultrasound hyperthermia in HNSCC cell lines HN-30 and HN-13.

Material and Methods

We examined the dynamic changes of early apoptosis and secondary necrosis in HN-30 and HN-13 cells treated by hyperthermia at 42°C for 10 min. We further examined mitochondrial membrane potential in vitro by ultrasound hyperthermia for different heating temperatures (38-44°C, 10 min) and heating times (42°C, 10-50 min). After heating by ultrasound at 42°C for 10 min, the apoptosis index achieved its highest level at 8 h after treatment, decreased rapidly and remained constant at a reduced level at 12 h.

Results

The level of secondary necrosis increased with the level of early apoptosis but remained at a higher level until 14 h. The level of secondary necrosis correlated with the level of early apoptosis (HN-13: r=0.7523, P=0.0030; HN-30: r=0.6510, P=0.016). The fractions of cells with low mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψ) in the heating-temperature grads group and heating-time grads group decreased significantly over time. Therefore, HN-30 and HN-13 cells developed apoptosis after ultrasound hyperthermia treatment with decreases in the mitochondrial transmembrane potential level.

Conclusions

Ultrasound hyperthermia induces apoptosis in HN-30 and HN-13 cells, possibly via the mitochondrial caspase pathway.

Key words:Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential, ultrasound hyperthermia.