Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Activities of the Medicinal Plant Ziziphus obtusifolia.

BACKGROUND: Ziziphus obtusifolia is a spiny shrub found in Northwest Mexico desert, with traditional medicinal use to treat several diseases including cancer. OBJECTIVE: The aims of the present study were to evaluate the antiproliferative and apoptotic activities of the aerial parts of this plant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methanol extract and its fractions were prepared using several solvents. The antiproliferative activity was evaluated by the (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium) (MTT) assay on HeLa, A549, RAW 264.7, M12.C3.F6, and L-929 cell lines, and the apoptotic activity using Annexin V and (5,50,6,60-tetra-chloro-1,10,3,30-tetra-ethylbenzimidazol-carbocyanine iodide) staining. The most active fraction was further separated by column chromatography. RESULTS: The most active fraction was hexane with an IC50 of 90.4 µg/mL against RAW 264.7, 94 µg/mL against M12.C3.F6, 165.5 µg/mL against HeLa and 187.7 µg/mL against A549 cell lines. In apoptotic activity assays the methanol extract and its n-hexane fraction were found to induce mitochondrial depolarization in HeLa cells (83 and 87% respectively), and both induced the externalization of the phosphatidylserine increasing the percentage of cells in early apoptosis from 1.4% in untreated control cells, to 1.9% and 3.5% for methanol extract and n-hexane fraction-treated cells, respectively, statistically different for the total percentage of apoptotic cells (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results show that Z. obtusifolia has antiproliferative and apoptotic activities in vitro and confirms its use in traditional medicine. SUMMARY: The methanol extract and its fractions using several solvents were evaluated in the antiproliferative activity by the MTT assay on HeLa, A549, RAW 264.7, M12.C3.F6, and L-929 cell lines, and the apoptotic activity using Annexin V and (5,50,6,60-tetra-chloro-1,10,3,30-tetra-ethylbenzimidazol-carbocyanine iodide) staining. The most active fraction against cell lines was hexane. In apoptotic activity assays, the methanol extract and its n-hexane fraction were found to induce mitochondrial depolarization. This results we showed that Ziziphus obtusifolia has antiproliferative and apoptotic activities in vitro.Abbreviations Used: DMEM: Dulbecco's modified eagle's medium, DMSO: Dimethyl sulfoxide, MTT: (3-4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium), JC-1: (5,50,6,60-tetra-chloro-1,10,3,30-tetra-ethylbenzimidazol-carbocyanine iodide), FBS: Fetal bovine serum, CAPE: Caffeic acid phenethyl ester, PBS: Phosphate-buffered saline.

Antiproliferative activity of spinasterol isolated of Stegnosperma halimifolium (Benth, 1844).

Cancer is the major cause of death in the world, representing a significant public health problem. Plants have been shown as a great source of secondary metabolites with anticancer activity. The aim of this work was evaluated the antiproliferative activity of the methanolic extracts, chemical fractions and the compound spinasterol isolated of medicinal plant Stegnosperma halimifolium. The methanolic extracts of stem, leaf and stem/leaf was obtained by maceration. The methanolic extract of stem was purified by successive extractions with solvents as n-hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol. The n-hexane fraction was separated by column chromatographic and monitored by thin layer chromatographic. The compound spinasterol was characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and Mass Spectrometry. Methanolic extracts, chemical, chromatographic fractions and spinasterol was evaluated against RAW 264.7, M12.C3.F6, PC-3, LS-180, A549 and HeLa cancer cell lines by the standardized method MTT for determinate the antiproliferative activity. Methanolic extract of stem shown the better antiproliferative activity against the murine macrophage cancer cell line RAW 264.7. n-Hexane chemical fraction shown antiproliferative activity against human alveolar cancer cell line A549 and RAW 264.7. Was isolated and characterized a compound by NMR 1H and 13C, revealing the presence of sterol spinasterol. Spinasterol shown to have antiproliferative activity against cervical cancer cell line HeLa and RAW 264.7, indicating that spinasterol can be a responsible compound of antiproliferative activity found in the methanolic extract of Stegnosperma halimifolium.

In vitro anti-proliferative activity of Argemone gracilenta and identification of some active components.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Natural products have been regarded as important sources of potential chemotherapeutic agents. In this study, we evaluated the anti-proliferative activity of Argemone gracilenta's methanol extract and its fractions. We identified those compounds of the most active fractions that displayed anti-proliferative activity. METHODS: The anti-proliferative activity on different cancerous cell lines (M12.C3F6, RAW 264.7, HeLa) was evaluated in vitro using the MTT colorimetric method. Identification of the active compounds present in the fractions with the highest activity was achieved by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. RESULTS: Both argemonine and berberine alkaloids, isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction, displayed high anti-proliferative activity with IC50 values of 2.8, 2.5, 12.1, and 2.7, 2.4, 79.5 µg/mL on M12.C3F6, RAW 264.7, and HeLa cancerous cell lines, respectively. No activity was shown on the normal L-929 cell line. From the hexane fraction, a mixture of fatty acids and fatty acid esters of 16 or more carbon atoms with anti-proliferative activity was identified, showing a range of IC50 values of 16.8-24.9, 34.1-35.4, and 67.6-91.8 µg/mL on M12.C3F6, RAW 264.7, and HeLa cancerous cell lines, respectively. On the normal L-929 cell line, this mixture showed a range of IC50 values of 85.1 to 100 µg/mL. CONCLUSION: This is the first study that relates argemonine, berberine, and a mixture of fatty acids and fatty acid esters with the anti-proliferative activity displayed by Argemone gracilenta.

In vitro anti-mycobacterial activity of nine medicinal plants used by ethnic groups in Sonora, Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Sonoran ethnic groups (Yaquis, Mayos, Seris, Guarijíos, Pimas, Kikapúes and Pápagos) use mainly herbal based preparations as their first line of medicinal treatment. Among the plants used are those with anti-tuberculosis properties; however, no formal research is available. METHODS: Organic extracts were obtained from nine medicinal plants traditionally used by Sonoran ethnic groups to treat different kinds of diseases; three of them are mainly used to treat tuberculosis. All of the extracts were tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using the Alamar Blue redox bioassay. RESULTS: Methanolic extracts from Ambrosia confertiflora, Ambrosia ambrosioides and Guaiacum coulteri showed minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 200, 790 and 1000 µg/mL, respectively, whereas no effect was observed with the rest of the methanolic extracts at the concentrations tested. Chloroform, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate extracts from Ambrosia confertiflora showed a MIC of 90, 120 and 160 µg/mL, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A. confertiflora and A. ambrosioides showed the best anti-mycobacterial activity in vitro. The activity of Guaiacum coulteri is consistent with the traditional use by Sonoran ethnic groups as anti-tuberculosis agent.For these reasons, it is important to investigate a broader spectrum of medicinal plants in order to find compounds active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Antimicrobial activity of Northwestern Mexican plants against Helicobacter pylori.

Helicobacter pylori is the major etiologic agent of such gastric disorders as chronic active gastritis and gastric carcinoma. Over the past few years, the appearance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has led to the development of better treatments, such as the use of natural products. This study evaluated the anti-H. pylori activity of 17 Mexican plants used mainly in the northwestern part of Mexico (Sonora) for the empirical treatment of gastrointestinal disorders. The anti-H. pylori activity of methanolic extracts of the plants was determined by using the broth microdilution method. The 50% minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from less than 200 to 400 µg/mL for Castella tortuosa, Amphipterygium adstringens, Ibervillea sonorae, Pscalium decompositum, Krameria erecta, Selaginella lepidophylla, Pimpinella anisum, Marrubium vulgare, Ambrosia confertiflora, and Couterea latiflora and were greater than 800 µg/mL for Byophyllum pinnatum, Tecoma stans linnaeus, Kohleria deppena, Jatropha cuneata, Chenopodium ambrosoides, and Taxodium macronatum. Only Equisetum gigantum showed no activity against H. pylori. This study suggests the important role that these plants may have in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders caused by H. pylori. The findings set the groundwork for further characterization and elucidation of the active compounds responsible for such activity.