ABSTRACT
Secundiflorol G (SG) is an isoflavan isolated from the root bark of Aeschynomene fascicularis, a Mayan medicinal plant used to treat cancer-like symptoms. SG has been shown to have cytotoxic effects on cervical cancer cells (HeLa). Assays were done to identify the mechanisms of SG's cytotoxic effect.HeLa cells treated with SG exhibited early and late apoptosis, and caspase-9, -8 and -3 activities. It also induces generation of reactive oxygen species and disrupted mitochondrial membrane potential.SG isolated from A. fascicularis induces apoptosis through extrinsic and intrinsic pathways on HeLa cells. SG could be a candidate for in vivo studies and a promising natural compound in cervical cancer treatment.
Subject(s)
Apoptosis/drug effects , Benzopyrans/isolation & purification , Benzopyrans/pharmacology , Fabaceae/chemistry , Isoflavones/isolation & purification , Isoflavones/pharmacology , Plants, Medicinal/chemistry , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/pathology , Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology , Benzopyrans/chemistry , Caspases/metabolism , Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21/metabolism , Enzyme Activation/drug effects , Female , HeLa Cells , Humans , Isoflavones/chemistry , Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial/drug effects , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/drug therapy , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/enzymology , bcl-2-Associated X Protein/metabolismABSTRACT
Neurological disorders are a public health problem worldwide for which there is currently no direct treatment of the cause of the disorder. The goal of this study was to investigate the potential in vitro neuroprotective property of plants used in Mayan traditional medicine. Plant ethanolic extracts were prepared and tested on models in which neuronal damage was induced by glutamate, i.e., a human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y) and rat cortical neurons. HPLC profiles from active extracts were also obtained. A total of 51 plant species were identified in the literature as plant species used in Mayan traditional medicine for the treatment of symptoms suggestive of neurological disorders, and we studied 34 of these in our analysis. Six extracts had a neuroprotective effect on SH-SY5Y cells, with the most active extract being that from Schwenckia americana roots (half maximal effective concentration [EC50] 11.3 ± 2.9 µg/mL), and three extracts exhibited a neuroprotective effect in the rat neuron cortical model, with the most active extract being that from Elytraria imbricata aerial parts (EC50 6.8 ± 3.1 µg/mL). These results suggest that the active extracts from such plants have the potential to be a great resource. Future studies should be performed that are more extensive and which isolate the active constituents.