Ethanolic Extracts of Pluchea indica Induce Apoptosis and Antiproliferation Effects in Human Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells

Insights into the anti-infective effects of Pluchea indica (L.) Less and its bioactive metabolites against various bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Pluchea indica (L.) Less (family Asteraceae) is popularly consumed as a medicinal vegetable and used in ethnomedicine to treat various diseases including gastrointestinal problems such as dysentery and leucorrhoea, which are due to bacterial, fungal or parasitic infections. There have been numerous studies on the antimicrobial effects of the plant due to these ethnomedicine use.

AIM OF THIS REVIEW

This review is comprehensively discussed the information on the anti-infective properties of P. indica and its secondary metabolites, and highlight the potential of the plant as a new source of anti-infective agents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Scientific databases such as Scopus, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Wiley Online Library, and ACS Publications were used to gather the relevant information on the ability of P. indica to fight infections, with the leaves and roots receiving most of the attention.

RESULTS

Anti-bacterial, anti-mycobacterial, anti-malarial, and anti-viral activities have been the most exploited. Most studies were carried out on the crude extracts of the plant and in most studies the bioactive extracts were not standardized or chemically characterized. Several studies have reported the anti-infective activity of several bioactive components of P. indica including caffeoylquinic acids, terpenoid glycosides, thiophenes, and kaempferol.

CONCLUSIONS

The strong anti-infective effect and underlying mechanisms of the compounds provide insights into the potential of P. indica as a source of new leads for the development of anti-infective agents for use in food and pharmaceutical industries.

The efficacy of natural products for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumor originating in the nasopharyngeal epithelium with a high incidence in southern China and parts of Southeast Asia. The current treatment methods are mainly radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, they often have side effects and are not suitable for long-term exposure. Natural products have received more and more attention in cancer prevention and treatment because of their its high efficiency, low toxic side effects, and low toxicity. Natural products can serve as a viable alternative, and this study aimed to review the efficacy and mechanisms of natural products in the treatment of NPC by examining previous literature. Most natural products act by inhibiting cell proliferation, metastasis, inducing cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Although further research is needed to verify their effectiveness and safety, natural products can significantly improve the treatment of NPC.

Prospective Asian plants with corroborated antiviral potentials: Position standing in recent years

Viral diseases are extremely widespread infections caused by viruses. Amongst numerous other illnesses, viral infections have challenged human existence severely. Over the history of mankind, new viruses have emerged and presented us with new tests. The range of viral infections varies from familiar infectious diseases such as the common cold, flu, and warts to severe ailments such as AIDS, Ebola, and COVID-19. The world has been racing to find an effective cure for the newly evolving viruses. Toxic effects, non-selectivity, drug resistance, and high price are the most common complications of conventional treatment procedures. Nature is a marvelous source of phytoconstituents with incredible varieties of biological activities. By tradition, medicinal plants have been utilized for the treatment of countless infectious diseases worldwide, some of which contain a broad spectrum of activities. Modern drug discovery and development techniques offer highly efficient separation techniques, inauguration of vector-based schemes where the original infectious virus is cloned to the non-infectious one for antiviral screening targets. The objective of the review was to gather available data on 20 both cultivated and native plants of Asia giving antiviral activities and provide comprehensive information on the phytochemical analysis of the plants and potential antiviral compounds isolated from these plants.

Phytoconstituents and Pharmacological Activities of Indian Camphorweed (Pluchea indica): A Multi-Potential Medicinal Plant of Nutritional and Ethnomedicinal Importance

Pluchea indica (L.) Less. (Asteraceae) commonly known as Indian camphorweed, pluchea, or marsh fleabane has gained great importance in various traditional medicines for its nutritional and medicinal benefits. It is utilized to cure several illnesses such as lumbago, kidney stones, leucorrhea, inflammation, gangrenous and atonic ulcer, hemorrhoids, dysentery, eye diseases, itchy skin, acid stomach, dysuria, abdominal pain, scabies, fever, sore muscles, dysentery, diabetes, rheumatism, etc. The plant or its leaves in the form of tea are commonly used for treating diabetes and rheumatism. The plant is a rich source of calcium, vitamin C, dietary fiber, and β-carotene. Various biomolecules have been isolated from P. indica, including thiophenes, terpenes, quinic acids, sterols, lignans, phenolics, and flavonoids. The current review reports detailed information about the phytoconstituents and pharmacological relevance of P. indica and the link to its traditional uses. The reported studies validated the efficacy and safety of P. indica, as well as supported its traditional uses for treating various ailments and promoting health and well-being. Thus, this could encourage the development of this plant into a healthy food supplement or medicine for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. However, further studies on the drug interactions, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, and metabolism, as well as clinical trials, should be carried out.

P53 in the impaired lungs

Our laboratory is focused on investigating the supportive role of P53 towards the maintenance of lung homeostasis. Acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, bronchial asthma, pulmonary arterial hypertension, pneumonia and tuberculosis are respiratory pathologies, associated with dysfunctions of this endothelium defender (P53). Herein we review the evolving role of P53 towards the aforementioned inflammatory disorders, to potentially reveal new therapeutic possibilities in pulmonary disease.

Essential Oil from Arnica Montana L. Achenes: Chemical Characteristics and Anticancer Activity

Mountain arnica Arnica montana L. is a source of several metabolite classes with diverse biological activities. The chemical composition of essential oil and its major volatile components in arnica may vary depending on the geographical region, environmental factors, and plant organ. The objective of this study was to characterize the chemical composition of essential oil derived from A. montana achenes and to investigate its effect on induction of apoptosis and autophagy in human anaplastic astrocytoma MOGGCCM and glioblastoma multiforme T98G cell lines. The chemical composition of essential oil extracted from the achenes was examined with the use of Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry GC-MS. Only 16 components of the essential oil obtained from the achenes of 3-year-old plants and 18 components in the essential oil obtained from the achenes of 4-year-old plants constituted ca. 94.14% and 96.38% of the total EO content, respectively. The main components in the EO from the arnica achenes were 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (39.54 and 44.65%), cumene (13.24 and 10.71%), thymol methyl ether (8.66 and 8.63%), 2,6-diisopropylanisole (8.55 and 8.41%), decanal (7.31 and 6.28%), and 1,2,2,3-tetramethylcyclopent-3-enol (4.33 and 2.94%) in the 3- and 4-year-old plants, respectively. The essential oils were found to exert an anticancer effect by induction of cell death in anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiforme cells. The induction of apoptosis at a level of 25.7–32.7% facilitates the use of this secondary metabolite in further studies focused on the development of glioma therapy in the future. Probably, this component plays a key role in the anticancer activity against the MOGGCCM and T98G cell lines. The present study is the first report on the composition and anticancer activities of essential oil from A. montana achenes, and further studies are required to explore its potential for future medicinal purposes.

Adjunctive Chinese herbal medicine therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Clinical evidence and experimental validation

BACKGROUND

To investigate the benefits of adjunctive Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

METHODS

We included all patients diagnosed with NPC during 1997-2009 and followed until 2011 in Taiwan. We used 1:1 frequency matching by age, sex, comorbidity, conventional treatment, and index year to compare the CHM users and non-CHM users (n = 2542 each). The prescribed CHM was further investigated with regard to its cytotoxicity.

RESULTS

Compared with non-CHM users, adjunctive CHM users had a lower hazard ratio of mortality risk, and a better survival probability. Gan-Lu-Yin (GLY) was the most commonly prescribed CHM, and it reduced cell viability, inhibited tumor proliferation, and induced apoptosis through the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and caspase-3-dependent pathway in human NPC TW01 cells. Oral administration of GLY retarded NPC-TW01 tumor growth in the xenograft nude mouse model.

CONCLUSION

Real-world data and laboratory experiments implied that adjunctive CHM might be beneficial for NPC patients.

Development of EST-SSR markers for Pluchea indica (Asteraceae) and cross-amplification in related species

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

Expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers were developed for Pluchea indica, a traditional medicinal species widespread along the tropical coastlines of Asia and northern Australia.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Based on transcriptome data for P. indica, a total of 40 primer pairs were initially designed and tested, of which 17 were successfully amplified and showed clear polymorphism. For these SSR loci, one to nine alleles per locus were identified. The levels of observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0 to 0.9 and 0 to 0.831, respectively. Furthermore, 16, 17, and 12 loci were successfully amplified in three congeneric species, P. eupatorioides, P. pteropoda, and P. sagittalis, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The SSR markers described here may be useful for further investigation of the population genetics of P. indica and related species.

Oxymatrine induces nasopharyngeal cancer cell death through inhibition of PI3K/AKT and NF‑κB pathways

Oxymatrine may inhibit tumor cell proliferation, induce cell cycle arrest, promote apoptosis, induce tumor cell differentiation and fight against tumor angiogenesis, as well as inhibit tumor invasion and metastasis. The present study aimed to investigate the anticancer effects of oxymatrine on nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) cell death, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of these effects. NPC HK‑1 cells were incubated overnight and treated with oxymatrine (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 mg/ml) for 1, 2 or 3 days. The results demonstrated that oxymatrine significantly inhibited NPC cell proliferation in a time‑ and dose‑dependent manner. Oxymatrine treatment also induced apoptosis, induced the activities of caspase‑3 and caspase‑9, promoted p53 and Bax protein expression, and suppressed cyclin D protein expression in these cells. The protein expression levels of phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K), phosphorylated (p)‑AKT, p‑mammalian target of rapamycin, p‑p70 ribosomal protein S6 kinase and nuclear factor (NF)‑κB were significantly downregulated by oxymatrine treatment. In conclusion, results from the present study suggested that oxymatrine may induce NPC cell death through the inhibition of PI3K/AKT and NF‑κB signaling pathways.

Hexane fraction of Pluchea indica root extract inhibits proliferation and induces autophagy in human glioblastoma cells

Pluchea indica (L.) Less. is a perennial plant known for its versatile uses in traditional medicine. Previous findings have shown that the extracts of Pluchea indica possess significant anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer and anti-tuberculosis activity. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the anticancer activity of the hexane fraction of P. indica root extract (H-PIRE) in human glioblastoma cells using flow cytometric and western blot analysis. The results shoewd that, H-PIRE suppressed the growth of glioblastoma cells in a dose-dependent manner. H-PIRE treatment markedly decreased the population of cells in S and G2/M phases. The significant upregulation of acidic vesicular organelle (AVO) was detected during H-PIRE treatment. The expression levels of microtubule-associated light chain 3-II (LC3-II) protein, phosphorylated JNK and phosphorylated p38 were significantly increased, confirming the occurrence of autophagy during the process. Finally, the combination treatment of H-PIRE and LY294002, a pan PI3K inhibitor, further decreased cell viability, suggesting an additive anticancer effect. Taken together, our results suggest that H-PIRE suppresses the proliferation of glioblastoma cells by inducing cell cycle arrest and autophagy.

Anticancer Natural Compounds as Epigenetic Modulators of Gene Expression

Accumulating evidence shows that hallmarks of cancer include: "genetic and epigenetic alterations leading to inactivation of cancer suppressors, overexpression of oncogenes, deregulation of intracellular signaling cascades, alterations of cancer cell metabolism, failure to undergo cancer cell death, induction of epithelial to mesenchymal transition, invasiveness, metastasis, deregulation of immune response and changes in cancer microenvironment, which underpin cancer development". Natural compounds as bioactive ingredients isolated from natural sources (plants, fungi, marine life forms) have revolutionized the field of anticancer therapeutics and rapid developments in preclinical studies are encouraging. Natural compounds could affect the epigenetic molecular mechanisms that modulate gene expression, as well as DNA damage and repair mechanisms. The current review will describe the latest achievements in using naturally produced compounds targeting epigenetic regulators and modulators of gene transcription in vitro and in vivo to generate novel anticancer therapeutics.