Pathways Related to the Anti-Cancer Effects of Metabolites Derived from Cerrado Biome Native Plants: An Update and Bioinformatics Analysis on Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer is a significant health problem worldwide. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a malignant neoplasm of epithelial cells that mostly affects different anatomical sites in the head and neck and derives from the squamous epithelium or displays similar morphological characteristics. Generally, OSCC is often the end stage of several changes in the stratified squamous epithelium, which begin as epithelial dysplasia and progress by breaking the basement membrane and invading adjacent tissues. Several plant-based drugs with potent anti-cancer effects are considered inexpensive treatments with limited side effects for cancer and other diseases. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to explore whether some Brazilian plant extracts or constituents exhibit anti-tumorigenic activity or have a cytotoxic effect on human oral carcinoma cells. METHODS: Briefly, OSCC and several metabolites derived from Brazilian plants (i.e., flavonoids, vinblastine, irinotecan, etoposide and paclitaxel) were used as keywords to search the literature on PubMed, GenBank and GeneCards. RESULTS: The results showed that these five chemical compounds found in Cerrado Biome plants exhibit anti-neoplastic effects. Evaluating the compounds revealed that they play a main role in the regulation of cell proliferation. CONCLUSION: Preserving and utilising the biodiversity of our planet, especially in unique ecosystems, such as the Cerrado Biome, may prove essential to preserving and promoting human health in modern contexts.

Biotechnological advancements in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don.

Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, also known as Madagascar periwinkle or Sadabahar, is a herbaceous plant belonging to the family Apocynaceae. Being a reservoir for more than 200 alkaloids, it reserves a place for itself in the list of important medicinal plants. Secondary metabolites are present in its leaves (e.g., vindoline, vinblastine, catharanthine, and vincristine) as well as basal stem and roots (e.g., ajmalicine, reserpine, serpentine, horhammericine, tabersonine, leurosine, catharanthine, lochnerine, and vindoline). Two of its alkaloids, vincristine and vinblastine (possessing anticancerous properties), are being used copiously in pharmaceutical industries. Till date, arrays of reports are available on in vitro biotechnological improvements of C. roseus. The present review article concentrates chiefly on various biotechnological advancements based on plant tissue culture techniques of the last three decades, for instance, regeneration via direct and indirect organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, secondary metabolite production, synthetic seed production, clonal fidelity assessment, polyploidization, genetic transformation, and nanotechnology. It also portrays the importance of various factors influencing the success of in vitro biotechnological interventions in Catharanthus and further addresses several shortcomings that can be further explored to create a platform for upcoming innovative approaches. KEY POINTS: • C. roseus yields anticancerous vincristine and vinblastine used in pharma industry. •In vitro biotechnological interventions prompted major genetic advancements. • This review provides an insight on in vitro-based research achievements till date. • Key bottlenecks and prospective research methodologies have been identified herein.

First report on a novel Nigrospora sphaerica isolated from Catharanthus roseus plant with anticarcinogenic properties.

This paper reports on the vinca alkaloid produced by a novel Nigrospora sphaerica isolated from Catharanthus roseus. Through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS), only the crude mycelia extract of this fungus was positive for determination of vinblastine. This vinca alkaloid was then purified by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and tested for cytotoxicity activity using MTT assays. The breast cell line cancer (MDA-MB 231) was treated with a purified vinblastine which was intracellulary produced by N. sphaerica. The purified vinblastine from extracted leaf of C. roseus was used as a standard comparison. A positive result with a value of half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50 ) of > 32 µg ml-1 was observed compared with standard (IC50 ) of 350 µg ml-1 only. It showed that a vinblastine produced by N. sphaerica has a high cytotoxicity activity even though the concentration of vinblastine produced by this endophytic fungus was only 0.868 µg ml-1 .

Synthesis of Bisindole Alkaloids from the Apocynaceae Which Contain a Macroline or Sarpagine Unit: A Review.

Bisindole natural products consist of two monomeric indole alkaloid units as their obligate constituents. Bisindoles are more potent with respect to their biological activity than their corresponding monomeric units. In addition, the synthesis of bisindoles are far more challenging than the synthesis of monomeric indole alkaloids. Herein is reviewed the enantiospecific total and partial synthesis of bisindole alkaloids isolated primarily from the Alstonia genus of the Apocynaceae family. The monomeric units belong to the sarpagine, ajmaline, macroline, vobasine, and pleiocarpamine series. An up-to-date discussion of their isolation, characterization, biological activity as well as approaches to their partial and total synthesis by means of both synthetic and biosynthetic strategies are presented.

An Endophytic Fungus, Talaromyces radicus, Isolated from Catharanthus roseus, Produces Vincristine and Vinblastine, Which Induce Apoptotic Cell Death.

Endophytic fungi isolated from Catharanthus roseus were screened for the production of vincristine and vinblastine. Twenty-two endophytic fungi isolated from various tissues of C. roseus were characterized taxonomically by sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA and grouped into 10 genera: Alternaria, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Colletotrichum, Dothideomycetes, Eutypella, Eutypa, Flavodon, Fusarium and Talaromyces. The antiproliferative activity of these fungi was assayed in HeLa cells using the MTT assay. The fungal isolates Eutypella sp--CrP14, obtained from stem tissues, and Talaromyces radicus--CrP20, obtained from leaf tissues, showed the strongest antiproliferative activity, with IC50 values of 13.5 µg/ml and 20 µg/ml, respectively. All 22 endophytic fungi were screened for the presence of the gene encoding tryptophan decarboxylase (TDC), the key enzyme in the terpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthetic pathway, though this gene could only be amplified from T. radicus--CrP20 (NCBI GenBank accession number KC920846). The production of vincristine and vinblastine by T. radicus--CrP20 was confirmed and optimized in nine different liquid media. Good yields of vincristine (670 µg/l) in modified M2 medium and of vinblastine (70 µg/l) in potato dextrose broth medium were obtained. The cytotoxic activity of partially purified fungal vincristine was evaluated in different human cancer cell lines, with HeLa cells showing maximum susceptibility. The apoptosis-inducing activity of vincristine derived from this fungus was established through cell cycle analysis, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA fragmentation patterns.

Determination of vinblastine in tumour tissue with liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry.

There are virtually no analytical methods that describe determination of vinblastine and other vinca alkaloids in tumour tissue, albeit quantitative data on tumour drug amount is essential for maximal benefit of a particular anticancer treatment. The analytical method presented herein uses state-of-the-art sample preparation, separation and detection techniques to allow sensitive and selective determination of vinblastine in tumour tissue. After cryogenic grinding and sonication, tumour suspensions were extracted by Oasis MAX solid phase extraction and analysed for vinblastine with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to positive electrospray ionisation-high resolution mass spectrometric detection. The developed analytical method quantifies vinblastine down to 23 ng/g tumour tissue and shows satisfactory linearity (r(2)>0.99), precision (1.1-8.2%), accuracy (98%) and high selectivity with almost complete absence of matrix effects. The proposed method was found suitable to follow vinblastine levels in mice tumours and could be used to support preclinical pharmacologic studies.

Isolation, purification and characterization of vinblastine and vincristine from endophytic fungus Fusarium oxysporum isolated from Catharanthus roseus.

Endophytic fungi reside in a symbiotic fashion inside their host plants, mimic their chemistry and interestingly, produce the same natural products as their hosts and are thus being screened for the production of valuable compounds like taxol, camptothecin, podophyllotoxin, etc. Vinblastine and vincristine are excellent anti-cancer drugs but their current production using plants is non-abundant and expensive. In order to make these drugs readily available to the patients at affordable prices, we isolated the endophytic fungi from Catharanthus roseus plant and found a fungus AA-CRL-6 which produces vinblastine and vincristine in appreciable amounts. These drugs were purified by TLC and HPLC and characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, ESI-MS, MS/MS and (1)H NMR. One liter of culture filtrate yielded 76 µg and 67 µg of vinblastine and vincristine respectively. This endophytic fungal strain was identified as Fusarium oxysporum based upon its cultural and morphological characteristics and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis.

Two new vinblastine-type N-oxide alkaloids from Catharanthus roseus.

Two new vinblastine-type N-oxide alkaloids, 17-desacetoxyvinblastine N'b-oxide (1) and 20'-deoxyvinblastine N'b-oxide (2), were isolated from the leaves of Catharanthus roseus. The structures of 1 and 2 were established by the analysis of their nuclear magnetic resonance and HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic data. All alkaloids were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line, human colorectal carcinoma (Lovo) cell line and human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell line by the MTT method in vitro, respectively. The results showed that cytotoxic activities of alkaloids 1 and 2 exhibited moderate inhibitory activity on the proliferation of three cancer cells.

[Purification and identification of impurities in vinorelbine bitartrate].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the chemical constituents of impurities in Vinorelbine Bitartrate. METHODS: The impurities were isolated and purified by silica gel column chromatographies, and their structures were identified on the basis of their physicochemical properties and spectroscopic data. RESULTS: Three compounds were isolated from Vinorelbine Bitartrate, and their structures were identified as Vinorelbine Bitartrate 3',4'-epoxy vinorelbine (1), 3',4'-oxidevinoerlbine (2) and 6'-N-mthyl-17-bormovinoerlbine (3). CONCLUSION: Compounds 2 and 3 are obtained as the impurities in Vinorelbine Bitartrate for the first time.

A virus-induced gene silencing approach to understanding alkaloid metabolism in Catharanthus roseus.

The anticancer agents vinblastine and vincristine are bisindole alkaloids derived from coupling vindoline and catharanthine, monoterpenoid indole alkaloids produced exclusively by the Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus). Industrial production of vinblastine and vincristine currently relies on isolation from C. roseus leaves, a process that affords these compounds in 0.0003-0.01% yields. Metabolic engineering efforts to either improve alkaloid content or provide alternative sources of the bisindole alkaloids ultimately rely on the isolation and characterization of the genes involved. Several vindoline biosynthetic genes have been isolated, and the cellular and subcellular organization of the corresponding enzymes has been well studied. However, due to the leaf-specific localization of vindoline biosynthesis, and the lack of production of this precursor in cell suspension and hairy root cultures of C. roseus, further elucidation of this pathway demands the development of reverse genetics approaches to assay gene function in planta. The bipartite pTRV vector system is a Tobacco Rattle Virus-based virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) platform that has provided efficient and effective means to assay gene function in diverse plant systems. A VIGS method was developed herein to investigate gene function in C. roseus plants using the pTRV vector system. The utility of this approach in understanding gene function in C. roseus leaves is demonstrated by silencing known vindoline biosynthetic genes previously characterized in vitro.

Synthesis and study of a molecularly imprinted polymer for specific solid-phase extraction of vinflunine and its metabolite from biological fluids.

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized in order to specifically extract vinflunine, an anticancer agent, and its metabolite (4-O-deacetylvinflunine) from bovine plasma and artificial urine by solid-phase extraction (SPE). Vinorelbine, a non-fluorinated analogue of vinflunine, was selected as a template for MIP synthesis. The selectivity of MIP versus the template (vinorelbine) and other alkaloids (catharanthine, vinblastine, vincristine, vinflunine and 4-O-deacetylvinflunine) was shown by a SPE protocol carried out with non-aqueous samples. A second protocol was developed for aqueous samples with two consecutive washing steps (AcOH-NH2 OH buffer (pH 7, I=10 mM)-MeOH mixture 95:5 v/v and ACN-AcOH mixture 99:1 v/v) and an elution step (MeOH-AcOH mixture 90:10 v/v). Thus, MIP-SPE of bovine plasma brought high recoveries, 81 and 89% for vinflunine and its metabolite, respectively. This protocol was slightly modified for artificial urine samples in order to obtain a good MIP/NIP selectivity; furthermore, elution recoveries were 73 and 81% for vinflunine and its metabolite, respectively. Repeatability was assessed in both biological matrices and RSD (%) were inferior to 4%. The MIP also showed a suitable linearity (r(2) superior to 0.99), between 0.25 and 10 µg/mL for plasma, and between 1 and 5 µg/mL for artificial urine.

[Monomeric indole alkaloids from the aerial parts of Catharanthus roseus].

Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don is a plant of the Catharanthus genus of Apocynaceae which has been reported to have therapeutic effects of detoxication and anticancer. In order to further study the alkaloid constituents of C. roseus, the aerial parts of the plant were extracted with 95% EtOH, and then treated with 2% H2SO4 and NH3H2O to obtain total alkaloids. The total alkaloids were separated and purified by column chromatography over silica gel and prepared by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of physicochemical properties and spectral data. A new alkaloid together with five known compounds were isolated and identified as vindolinine B (1), lochnericine (2), horhammericine (3), vindorosine (4), vindoline (5), and coronaridine (6). Compound 1 is a new compound and named as vindolinine B.

Isolation and characterization of antineoplastic alkaloids from Catharanthus roseus L. Don. cultivated in Egypt.

Vinblastine and vincristine (the antileukemic agents) were isolated, in a pure form, from Catharanthus roseus L. Don., cultivated in Egypt, by several chromatographic techniques. Five modified methods for the preparation of total alkaloids were carried out. All the isolated mixtures were evaluated by HPLC and HPTLC analyses. The antineoplastic alkaloids; vinblastine and vincristine, were isolated by the use of vacuum liquid chromatographic column on silica gel : aluminium oxide (1:1) mixed bed vacuum liquid chromatography (VLC), Charcoal column, and finally purified by centrifugally accelerated radial chromatography (Chromatotrone).

In vitro cytotoxic activity of Salsola oppositifolia Desf. (Amaranthaceae) in a panel of tumour cell lines.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate for the first time the in vitro cytotoxic activity of fractions and isolated flavonols from Salsola oppositifolia Desf. (Amaranthaceae). The n-hexane fraction demonstrated an effective cytotoxic activity on the large lung carcinoma and amelanotic melanoma cell lines with IC50 values of 19.1 microg/ml and 24.4 microg/ml, respectively. Also the dichloromethane fraction exhibited cytotoxic activity against COR-L23 (IC50 30.4 microg/ml) and C32 (IC50 33.2 microg/ml) cells, while the EtOAc fraction demonstrated a selective cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells (IC50 67.9 microg/ml). The major active constituents of this fraction were isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside (1) and isorhamnetin-3-O-rutinoside (2), which showed an interesting activity against the cell line MCF-7 with IC50 values of 18.2 and 25.2 microg/ml, respectively. Compound 2 exhibited a strong activity against the hormone-dependent prostate carcinoma LNCaP cell line with an IC50 of 20.5 microg/ml. Constituents of S. oppositifolia were identified by GC-MS and NMR analyses.

Application of carborundum abrasion for investigating the leaf epidermis: molecular cloning of Catharanthus roseus 16-hydroxytabersonine-16-O-methyltransferase.

The Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) produces the well-known and remarkably complex anti-cancer dimeric alkaloids vinblastine and vincristine that are derived from the coupling of vindoline and catharanthine monomers. This study describes the novel application of a carborundum abrasion (CA) technique for large-scale isolation of leaf epidermis-enriched proteins in order to purify to apparent homogeneity 16-hydroxytabersonine-16-O-methyltransferase (16OMT), which catalyses the second of six steps in the conversion of tabersonine into vindoline, and to clone the gene. Functional expression and biochemical characterization of recombinant 16OMT demonstrated its very narrow substrate specificity and high affinity for 16-hydroxytabersonine. In addition to allowing the cloning of this gene, the CA technique clearly showed that 16OMT is predominantly expressed in Catharanthus leaf epidermis. The results provide compelling evidence that most of the pathway for vindoline biosynthesis, including the O-methylation of 16-hydroxytabersonine, occurs exclusively in the leaf epidermis, with subsequent steps occurring in other leaf cell types.

Novel bisindole derivatives of Catharanthus alkaloids with potential cytotoxic properties.

Pantropical plant Catharanthus roseus (L) G. Don is known as a source of valuable bisindole alkaloids: vinblastine (VBL) and vincristine (VCR), oncolytics widely used as sulfates in therapy of malignant diseases. They are biosynthesized in the plant from monoindolic vindoline and catharanthine, both derived from L-tryptophan and loganine units. In the course of phytochemical screening of this plant cultivated in Poland and considered as a home source of VBL and VCR we developed a new isolation method based on the solid phase extraction. Mild conditions used during the isolation procedure enabled the isolation of some labile compounds and so the monomeric alkaloids with high yields. Vindoline and so its congeners and subjected to various oxidative conditions gave 15,15'-bisindolic derivatives in quite good yield. Biological activities of the above mentioned bisindolic compounds are under study.

Supercritical fluid extraction and liquid chromatography-electrospray mass analysis of vinblastine from Catharanthus roseus.

Supercritical fluid extraction using carbon dioxide modified with methanol, methanol-diethylamine, or methanol-triethylamine was used to extract vinblastine from the aerial portions of Catharanthus roseus. An HPLC-electrospray ionization (ESI)/MS analysis method was also developed to quantify the alkaloids in these extracts. Of the supercritical solvents evaluated, carbon dioxide-methanol-triethylamine (80 : 18 : 2) at 80 degrees C and 34.0 MPa greatly improved the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) yield of vinblastine by as much as 76.4% over methanol extraction, while the other solvent conditions extracted the compound at yields less than 25% that of a methanol extraction. These results were confirmed by the robust HPLC-ESI/MS analytical method developed in this study.