Antitumoral activity of different Amaryllidaceae alkaloids: In vitro and in silico assays.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY RELEVANCE: The plants of Amaryllidaceae family, such as Amaryllis belladonna L., have been used as herbal remedies for thousands of years to address various disorders, including diseases that might today be identified as cancer. AIM OF THE STUDY: The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of three Amaryllidaceae alkaloids against four cancer cell lines. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The alkaloids lycorine, 1-O-acetylcaranine, and montanine were evaluated in vitro against colon adenocarcinoma cell line (HCT-116) and breast carcinoma cell lines (MCF-7, MDAMB231, and Hs578T). Computational experiments (target prediction and molecular docking) were conducted to gain a deeper comprehension of possible interactions between these alkaloids and potential targets associated with these tumor cells. RESULTS: Montanine presented the best results against HCT-116, MDAMB231, and Hs578T cell lines, while lycorine was the most active against MCF-7. In alignment with the target prediction outcomes and existing literature, four potential targets were chosen for the molecular docking analysis: CDK8, EGFR, ER-alpha, and dCK. The docking scores revealed two potential targets for the alkaloids with scores similar to co-crystallized inhibitors and substrates: CDK8 and dCK. A visual analysis of the optimal docked configurations indicates that the alkaloids may interact with some key residues in contrast to the other docked compounds. This observation implies their potential to bind effectively to both targets. CONCLUSIONS: In vitro and in silico results corroborate with data literature suggesting the Amaryllidaceae alkaloids as interesting molecules with antitumoral properties, especially montanine, which showed the best in vitro results against colorectal and breast carcinoma. More studies are necessary to confirm the targets and pharmaceutical potential of montanine against these cancer cell lines.

Trifolium pratense: Friable calli, cell culture protocol and isoflavones content in wild plants, in vitro and cell cultures analyzed by UPLC

Abstract Trifolium pratense L., Fabaceae, is a rich source of isoflavones and has become the focus of several studies related to its phytoestrogenic activity. The aim of this study was to establish germination and cell cultures protocol for T. pratense and quantify isoflavones content in cell cultures, in vitro cultured and wild plants harvested in two different seasons. Murashige Skoog medium supplemented with naphthalene acetic acid and kinetin was able to produce the highest formation of friable calli. Calli cultures were analyzed qualitatively after 60 days of culture, and in vitro plants after 30, 45 and 60 days of cultivation. The chemical analysis was performed by ultra performance liquid chromatography, using the linearity curves of daidzein, genistein, formononetin and biochanin A as standards. The concentrations of isoflavones detected in wild plants were different in the two harvest periods and contrasted in content when compared to the in vitro plants. Cell cultures exhibited diverse profiles and concentration of isoflavones, none of which presented the isoflavonoid biochanin A. Pectinase was used to promote reduction of clumps and ended up altering the characteristics of secondary metabolites production in some cultures. Formononetin showed higher concentration in wild red clover samples (15.407 mg g-1), and in the in vitro grown plants the highest concentration was daidzein (17.591 mg g-1) at 60 days. The methods used for this research were effective, and the red clover plants of the analyzed variety can be cultivated in vitro aiming the commercial productivity by having contents greater than or equal to the wild plants in the periods studied, even without the use of elicitors during the cultivation.

New lycosinine derivative from Hippeastrum breviflorum

AbstractA new lycosinine derivative, 9-O-demethyllycosinine B, was isolated from the native Brazilian Hippeastrum breviflorumHerb., Amaryllidaceae, along with the well-known alkaloids lycosinine B and lycorine. The structure of the new compound was established by physical and spectroscopic methods. 9-O-demethyllycosinine B is the third lycosinine variant identified in the Amaryllidaceae family.

Study of the effects of Psidium cattleyanum on gene expression from senescent mouse hippocampus / Perfil de expresión génica en hipocampo de ratones idosos tratados con Psidium cattleyanum

In this work, we report a characterization of gene expression profiles of mice hippocampus by use microarray after treatment with Psidium cattleyanum fruit (1000 mg/kg oral). After eight months, no toxic effects were detected with the supplementation. Genes differentially expressed include genes involved in a wide range of physiological functions, such as metabolism, transport, signal transduction and a group of genes whose function has not yet been identified. These results suggest that global analysis of gene expression might be useful to elucidate the mechanisms of beneficial phytochemical action and may also help to identify potential targets for further investigation.

El objetivo de éste trabajo fue evaluar el efecto de la administración oral prolongada (1000 mg/kg, 8 meses) del extracto de Psidium cattleyanum Sabine (Myrtaceae) en el perfil de la expresión génica en hipocampo de ratones idosos (Swiss). Después de 8 meses de suplementacion, no se detectaron efectos tóxicos en los animales tratados con relación al grupo control. Los genes con expresión diferencial incluyen, genes que codifican proteínas relacionadas con procesos de señalización, transcripción, metabolismo, así como genes con función desconocida. Los resultados demuestran la importancia de los microarray como herramienta para el estudio del mecanismo de acción de los compuestos fitoquímicos.

Avaliação in vitro das atividades antiinflamatória, antioxidante e antimicrobiana do alcalóide montanina / In vitro evaluation of the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of the montanine alkaloid

Diversas propriedades biológicas, dentre as quais atividade antiparasitária, antitumoral, antiviral e anticolinesterásica são associadas aos extratos e produtos isolados, incluindo alcalóides de espécies de Amarilidáceas. Neste trabalho verificou-se para o alcalóide montanina, isolado dos bulbos de Rhodophiala bifida (Herb.) Traub (Amaryllidaceae), atividade antioxidante e ação inibitória sobre o crescimento de culturas de Saccharomyces cerevisae (ATCC 2601), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Staphylococcus epidermides (ATCC 12228) e Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922). A atividade antiinflamatória avaliada através da determinação da capacidade antiquimiotáxica da amostra apresentou resultados não significativos na dose empregada.

Several biological properties, such as antiparasite, antitumor, antiviral and anticholinesterasic activities, are associated with extracts and isolated products, including alkaloids from Amaryllidaceae species. In this study, the antioxidant activity and inhibitory action on the growth of cell cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisae (ATCC 2601), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 6538), Staphylococcus epidermides (ATCC 12228) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) were observed to the montanine alkaloid, isolated from the bulbs of Rhodophiala bifida (Herb.) Traub (Amaryllidaceae). The anti-inflammatory activity, which was evaluated through the sample antichemotaxis ability determination, was not significant in the used dose.

Composição química e atividade antioxidante do óleo volátil de Eupatorium polystachyum DC / Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the volatile oil from Eupatorium polystachyum DC

Os óleos voláteis das folhas e inflorescências de Eupatorium polystachyum DC. (Asteraceae), coletado no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, foram caracterizados por CG-EM e sua atividade antioxidante foi avaliada utilizando-se o método de DPPH. Foram obtidos rendimentos de 1,6 e 0,9 por cento de óleo em relação às folhas e inflorescências frescas, sendo identificados 34 compostos, correspondendo a 99,1 e 99,5 por cento do óleo volátil, respectivamente. Os óleos apresentaram exclusivamente compostos terpênicos, sendo que as folhas contêm grande quantidade de monoterpenos (66,4 por cento) enquanto que as inflorescências apresentaram quantidades equivalentes de mono e sesquiterpenos (51,8 e 47,7 por cento, respectivamente). As amostras apresentaram-se qualitativamente muito semelhantes sendo constituídas majoritariamente por: beta-pineno (14,7 e 9,8 por cento), beta-mirceno (15,3 e 10,8 por cento) e limoneno (22,8 e 20,5 por cento) entre os monoterpenos e beta-cariofileno (10,4 e 15,4 por cento), germacreno D (7,2 e 9,4 por cento) e biciclogermacreno (12,0 e 19,2 por cento) entre os sesquiterpenos. As diferenças entre as amostras foram basicamente quantitativas. Os óleos apresentaram atividade antioxidante pelo ensaio com DPPH por bioautografia na diluição de 1:10 em éter etílico (v/v).

The essential oil obtained from leaves and flowers of Eupatorium polystachyum DC. (Asteraceae) collected in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, was characterized by GC-MS and its antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH assay. The yield of essential oil, relative to fresh material, was 1.6 and 0.9 percent for leaves and flowers, respectively. Both oils are constituted exclusively by terpenic compounds. Leaf oil contains great quantity of monoterpenes (66.4 percent); on the other hand, inflorescence oil contains comparable quantities of mono- and sesquiterpenes (51.8 and 47.7 percent, respectively). The same compounds are majority in both oils: beta-pinene (14.7 and 9.8 percent), beta-myrcene (15.3 and 10.8 percent) and limonene (22.8 and 20.5 percent) among monoterpenes and beta-caryophyllene (10.4 and 15.4 percent), germacrene D (7.2 and 9.4 percent) and bicyclogermacrene (12.0 and 19.2 percent) among sesquiterpenes. The oils had antioxidant activity by DPPH assay in 1:10 dilution in ethyl ether (v/v).

Pilocarpine accumulation on Pilocarpus pennatifolius tissue culture

Callus and cell suspension cultures were established from young leaves of Pilocarpus pennatifolius on Murashige & Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 5.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 1.0 mg/L kinetine. The pilocarpine contents of callus and cell suspension cultures were quantitatively compared by HPLC