Activation of JNK and p38 in MCF-7 Cells and the In Vitro Anticancer Activity of Alnus hirsuta Extract.

JNK and p38 are important mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) that respond to stress stimuli. The stress-activated MAPKs associated with apoptotic cell death play vital roles in mammalian cells. Alnus hirsuta, which contains abundant diarylheptanoids derivatives, is a valuable medicinal plant. The CHCl3 extract (AHC) containing platyphyllenone (1) and platyphyllone (3) as main compounds showed in vitro anticancer effects. We report the biological activities of A. hirsuta extract associated with the regulation of apoptosis and JNK and p38 in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Levels of phospho-JNK and phospho-p38 by AHC treatment were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ROS production, apoptotic effect, and DNA contents of the cells were measured by flow cytometry. The two diarylheptanoids 1 and 3 and the AHC extract exhibited cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 cells in MTT assay, with IC50 values of 18.1, 46.9, 260.0 µg/mL, respectively. AHC induced ROS generation and elevated the endogenous levels of phospho-JNK and phospho-p38. AHC resulted in apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. We suggest that the antitumor effect of A. hirsuta extract is achieved by apoptosis promotion and cell cycle arrest mediated by the activation of JNK and p38 signaling pathway via ROS generation.

Estrogenic/antiestrogenic activities of a Epimedium koreanum extract and its major components: in vitro and in vivo studies.

The estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities of Epimedii Herba, which is a traditional medicinal herb used in Korea and China were investigated in this study. The in vitro estrogen receptor (ER) mediated estrogenic/antiestrogenic activities of an Epimedii Herba extract (Epi ext) and its major components were determined using an estrogen responsive element driven reporter gene assay in MCF-7/ERE and HEK293T cells. The Epi ext exhibited ERα- and ERß-mediated estrogenic activity with an EC(50) of 5.0 and 17.8 µM in HEK293T cells, respectively. Prenylflavonoid glycosides such as icariin (ICA), epimedin A, B, and C did not show any in vitro estrogenic or antiestrogenic activities. Icaritin (ICT) and quercetin exhibited in vitro ER mediated estrogenic activity with a more potent interaction with ERß. In vivo estrogenic activities of the Epi ext, ICA and ICT were compared using an uterotrophic assay. Although the potency of in vitro estrogenic activity was in the order of ICT>Epi ext>ICA, ICA had the strongest estrogenic activity and next ICT in ovariectomized rats. These results collectively suggest that phytoestrogens possess both estrogenic and antiestrogenic activity, and that the differential expression of these two compounds with opposing activities is dependent on the physiological environment in terms of estrogen level, which may be the case in humans.

Peripubertal administration of icariin and icaritin advances pubertal development in female rats.

Epimedii Herba is a traditional medicinal herb used in Korea and China and exerts estrogenic activity. In this study, we investigated the effect of peripubertal administration of Epimedii Herba on pubertal development in female rats using a modified protocol of the rodent 20-day pubertal female assay. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (21 days old after weaning, 10 rats per group) were divided into five groups: saline (Con), ethinyl estradiol (E2), Epimedii Herba ext (Ext), icariin (ICI), and icaritin (ICT), which were administered by oral gavage (E2 by subcutaneous injection) from postnatal day (PND) 21 through PND40. The time to vaginal opening (VO) was shorter for the Epimedii groups, particularly for the ICT group (p<0.05). Treatment with ICI and ICT significantly increased the duration of the estrus cycle (ICI, 2.78 days; ICT, 4.0 days; control, 1.78 days). Ovary weight was reduced by E2 treatment and increased by the Ext, ICI, and ICT treatments while the weight of the uterus and pituitary glands increased significantly only in the E2 and ICT groups. Although Epimedii Herba displayed relatively weak estrogenic activity, its repeated administration could affect pubertal development in female rats.

The classical drug discovery approach to defining bioactive constituents of botanicals.

In this review, several recently identified biologically active principles of selected botanical dietary supplement ingredients are described, and were isolated using classical phytochemical chromatographic methods, with various spectroscopic procedures used for their isolation and structure elucidation. A central component of such an approach is "activity-guided fractionation" to monitor the compound purification process. In vitro assays germane to cancer chemoprevention were used to facilitate the work performed. Bioactive compounds, including several new substances, were characterized from açai (Euterpe oleracea), baobab (Adansonia digitata), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), and noni (Morinda citrifolia). Many of these compounds exhibited quite potent biological activity, but tended to be present in their plant of origin only at low concentration levels.

Simultaneous determination of phenolic acids and phthalide compounds by liquid chromatography for quality assessment of Rhizoma cnidii.

This paper describes a simple, rapid, and validated reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method developed for the determination of 4 major bioactive constituents, namely, chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, senkyunolide A, and Z-ligustilide in Rhizoma Cnidii extract. A Capcell Pak C18 chromatographic column (150 x 4.6 mm, 3 microm) was used with mobile phases consisting of 0.1% formic acid, acetonitrile, and methanol at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min and UV detection at 285 nm. Comprehensive validation of the method included evaluation of linearity, repeatability, recovery, and stability. Excellent linear behavior (r2>0.99) was observed over the concentration range of 2-100 microg/mL for the compounds under investigation. Repeatability and accuracy were evaluated by intra- and interday assays; the relative standard deviation (RSD) values were < or = 5.37% and accuracies ranged from 97.1 to 104.9%. Recoveries of the compounds ranged from 94.2 to 104.2% with RSD values of < or = 9.50%. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of ethanolic extracts of Rhizoma Cnidii samples. As a result, the concentrations of chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, Z-ligustilide, and senkyunolide A were determined to be 0.84-5.35, 0.45-1.65, 0.74-4.39, and 0.32-1.14 mg/g herb, respectively. Thus, the developed method was found to be accurate and reproducible and is considered suitable for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of Rhizoma Cnidii for bioactive compounds.