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PASS-predicted Vitex negundo activity: antioxidant and antiproliferative properties on human hepatoma cells--an in vitro study.

BMC Complement Altern Med 2013 Dec 4;13:343. Epub 2013 Dec 4.

Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma is a common type of tumour worldwide with a high mortality rate and with low response to current cytotoxic and chemotherapeutic drugs. The prediction of activity spectra for the substances (PASS) software, which predicted that more than 300 pharmacological effects, biological and biochemical mechanisms based on the structural formula of the substance was efficiently used in this study to reveal new multitalented actions for Vitex negundo (VN) constituents.

Methods: Experimental studies based on antioxidant and antiproliferative assays verified the predictions obtained by the PASS-predicted design strategy. Antioxidant activity of VN extract was studied using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and Ferric reducing or antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The antiproliferative activity of VN extract against WRL68 and HepG2 was investigated based on methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) spectrophotometric assay.

Results: VN extract showed 79.43% inhibition of DPPH stable radical with IC50 13.31 ± 0.18 μg/ml. This inhibition was too closed to butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) 82.53% (IC5013.8 ± 0.14) and gallic acid 89.51% (IC50 3.1 ± 0.08). VN extract exhibited the strongest free radical scavenging power compared with two commercial antioxidants, BHT and ascorbic acid. VN increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes in normal embryonic liver cells (WRL68) including, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) compared with to H2O2 group. The ethanolic extract of VN showed cytotoxicity to HepG2 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner with IC50 66.46 μg/ml, 57.36 μg/ml and 65.12 μg/ml at 24, 48, and 72-hours incubation respectively, with no sensitivity in WRL68 cells. This was associated with significant elevation in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release in HepG2 cells. In addition, the activation of caspase-3 enzyme suggesting that the observed cytotoxicity was mediated via an intrinsic apoptosis pathway.

Conclusions: PASS-predicted plant activity could efficiently help in selecting a promising pharmaceutical leads with high accuracy and required antioxidant and antiproliferative properties. This is the first report on PASS-predicted VN activity.

Pharm Biol 2013 Nov 10;51(11):1419-25. Epub 2013 Jul 10.

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Functional Materials Chemistry, and Research Center of Analysis and Test, East China University of Science and Technology , Shanghai , P.R. China.

Context: Alpinia oxyphylla Miquel (Zingiberaceae) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine widely used for the treatment of intestinal disorders, urosis and diuresis. However, information about antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of its fruits remains to be elucidated.

Objective: The ethanol crude extract (CE) and its fractions [petroleum ether fraction (PF), ethyl acetate fraction (EF), n-butanol fraction (BF) and water fraction (WF) extracted by petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and water, respectively] of A. Read More

Pharm Biol 2017 Dec;55(1):966-973

b Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Cankiri Karatekin University , Cankiri , Turkey.

Context: Chrozophora tinctoria (L.) A. Juss. Read More

BMC Complement Altern Med 2017 Aug 2;17(1):381. Epub 2017 Aug 2.

Department of Biochemistry, Cancer Research and Molecular Biology (CRMB) Laboratories, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria.

Background: Epidemiological and experimental evidences have shown cancer as a leading cause of death worldwide. Although the folklore use of plants as a reliable source of health-restoring principles is well-documented, the search for more of such plants that are active against diseases, such as cancer, continues. We report here a laboratory-based evidence of the relevance of an ethanol leaf extract of Anogeissus leiocarpus (A2L) in comparison with resveratrol, a natural polyphenol, in cancer therapy. Read More

Food Chem Toxicol 2017 Oct 7;108(Pt B):451-457. Epub 2016 Oct 7.

UPM-MAKNA Cancer Research Laboratory (Canres), Institute of Biosciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Aiton) Hassk. has a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects and has been used to treat wounds, colic diarrhoea, heartburns, abscesses and gynaecopathy. The potential antiproliferative activities of R. Read More