Activities of Some Medicinal Plants on the Proliferation and Invasion of Brain Tumor Cell Lines.

Cancer is a debilitating disease that is on the increase in both developed and developing countries. Anticancer drugs are often expensive, have narrow spectrum of activities, and are associated with toxicities and side effects such as myelosuppression, immunosuppression, gastrointestinal disturbance, alopecia, skin toxicity, and hepatotoxicity. Plants have been the major source of anticancer drugs both in orthodox and traditional medicine. Many of the plants claimed by the traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) to be effective in the treatment of cancer are yet to be evaluated scientifically. In this work, five medicinal plants used by TMPs in Borno State, Nigeria, were tested against two brain tumor cell lines. Ethanol extracts of Securidaca longepedunculata, Andira inermis subsp. rooseveltii, Annona senegalensis, Carissa edulis, and Parinari polyandra were used. U87 and U231 brain tumor cell lines were used for proliferation assay, U251 cell line was used for the invasion assay in collagen V coated inserts, and U87 cell line was used for the western blot detection of cleaved Poly-ADP-Ribose-Polymerase (PARP). The result revealed that all tested extracts significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the proliferation of U87 and U231 cell lines with the respective IC50 values ranging between 8 and 20 µg/ml for S. longepedunculata and 100 and 90 µg/ml for P. polyandra. The five extracts significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the invasion of U251 cell line at the concentration of 10 µg/ml (S. longepedunculata), 20 µg/ml (A. inermis), 50 µg/ml (A. senegalensis), 50 µg/ml (C. edulis), and 50 µg/ml (P. polyandra). Securidaca longepedunculata extract induced the cleavage of PARP. It was concluded that these medicinal plants have antiproliferative and anti-invasive activities and possess good prospects as source of anticancer agents especially S. longepedunculata which induced apoptosis in U87 cell line.

Ethanol Extract of Securidaca longipedunculata Induces Apoptosis in Brain Tumor (U87) Cells.

Incidence of cancer is estimated to be on the increase and current anticancer drugs are characterized by narrow margin of safety and side effects. There is the need to explore new drugs especially from plants since plants serve as major source of drugs. Securidaca longipedunculata Fresen plant is called the mother of all medicines in northern Nigeria and is used traditionally in the treatment of cancers by most traditional medicine practitioners in the region. This study is aimed at evaluating the anticancer activity of the plant extract using U87 brain tumor cell line. Ethanol extract of its root bark was prepared and fractionated by silica gel column chromatography. In vitro activity of the extract and fractions were assessed on the viability of U87 malignant brain tumor cell line by using hemacytometer, annexin V-PE and 7AAD flow cytometry and western blot detection of Poly-ADP-Ribose-Polymerase (PARP) cleavage. The results showed that the extract significantly (p<0.01) inhibited proliferation of U87 cell line with IC50 of 20.535 µg/ml. Apoptosis was induced by the extract (41.53 ± 10.33%) and the polar fraction (47.3 ± 2.7%) via cleavage of PARP. It was concluded that the ethanol extract of S. longipedunculata root bark inhibited proliferation of U87 cell line and induced apoptosis by cleavage of PARP, thus supporting folkloric use of the plant in the management of cancers.

Improving Brain Tumor Research in Resource-Limited Countries: A Review of the Literature Focusing on West Africa.

Neoplasms of the brain are often overlooked in resource-limited countries. Our literature search via AJOL and PubMed demonstrated that brain tumor research is still a rarity in these regions. We highlight the current status, importance, challenges, and methods of improving brain tumor research in West Africa. We suggest that more attention be given to basic, clinical, and epidemiological brain tumor research by national governments, private organizations, international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals in this region.