Salvia fruticosa, Salvia officinalis, and rosmarinic acid induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation of human colorectal cell lines: the role in MAPK/ERK pathway

Anti-proliferative effect of Melissa officinalis on human colon cancer cell line

Melissa officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) is consumed as a traditional herbal tea in the Mediterranean region. The cytotoxic effect of the 50% ethanolic and aqueous extract, determined by the MTT and NR assays, was evaluated in vitro on Human Colon Cancer Cell Line (HCT-116), using Triton 10% as positive control. The 50% ethanolic extract showed significant differences after 72 h of treatment, reducing cell proliferation to values close to 40%, even the lowest dose tested (5 μg/ml). In the MTT assay, the same extract caused the lowest cell viability with 13% at a concentration of 1,000 μg/ml after 72 h of treatment, being a value lower than Triton 10%. The antioxidant activity was also confirmed evaluating the capacity of the extracts to scavenge ABTS and DPPH radicals, and IC(50) values were highly correlated with the total phenolic and flavonoid content. Bioassay guided fractionation led to the isolation of an anti-proliferative compound, rosmarinic acid. Its structural elucidation was performed by HPLC/DAD/ESI/MS analysis. High dose of rosmarinic acid (1,000 μg/ml) was clearly cytotoxic against HCT-116 cells, with a significant decrease in cell number since the earliest time point (24 h).

Rosmarinic acid, major phenolic constituent of Greek sage herbal tea, modulates rat intestinal SGLT1 levels with effects on blood glucose

SCOPE

Previous results suggested that the effects of Salvia fruticosa tea (SFT) drinking on glucose regulation might be at the intestinal level. Here we aim to characterize the effects of SFT treatment and of its main phenolic constituent--rosmarinic acid (RA)--on the levels and localization of the intestinal Na+/glucose cotransporter-1 (SGLT1), the facilitative glucose transporter 2 and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).

METHODS AND RESULTS

Two models of SGLT1 induction in rats were used: through diabetes induction with streptozotocin (STZ) and through dietary carbohydrate manipulation. Drinking water was replaced with SFT or RA and blood parameters, liver glycogen and the levels of different proteins in enterocytes quantified. Two weeks of SFT treatment stabilized fasting blood glucose levels in STZ-diabetic animals. The increase in SGLT1 localized to the enterocyte brush-border membrane (BBM) induced by STZ treatment was significantly abrogated by treatment with SFT, without significant changes in total cellular transporter protein levels. No effects were observed on glucose transporter 2, Na(+) /K(+) -ATPase or glucagon-like peptide-1 levels by SFT. Additionally, SFT and RA for 4 days significantly inhibited the carbohydrate-induced adaptive increase of SGLT1 in BBM.

CONCLUSION

SFT and RA modulate the trafficking of SGLT1 to the BBM and may contribute to the control of plasma glucose.

A novel ring-expanded product with enhanced tyrosinase inhibitory activity from classical Fe-catalyzed oxidation of rosmarinic acid, a potent antioxidative Lamiaceae polyphenol

The iron-ion catalyzed oxidation of the ethanol solution of rosmarinic acid, a potent antioxidant polyphenol of Lamiaceae (Labiatae) plants, afforded a highly tyrosinase-inhibitory active product. The structure of the active product in the oxidation product mixture was determined using extensive NMR spectroscopy to have a novel oxygen-containing seven-membered ring system. The formation mechanism of the unique ring structure from the catechol part of the rosmarinic acid was proposed.

Polyphenolic compounds from Salvia species protect cellular DNA from oxidation and stimulate DNA repair in cultured human cells

DNA damage can lead to carcinogenesis if replication proceeds without proper repair. This study evaluated the effects of the water extracts of three Salvia sp., Salvia officinalis (SO), Salvia fruticosa (SF), and Salvia lavandulifolia (SL), and of the major phenolic constituents, rosmarinic acid (RA) and luteolin-7-glucoside (L-7-G), on DNA protection in Caco-2 and HeLa cells exposed to oxidative agents and on DNA repair in Caco-2 cells. The comet assay was used to measure DNA damage and repair capacity. The final concentration of each sage extract was 50 microg/mL, and concentrations of RA and L-7-G were 50 and 20 microM, respectively. After a short incubation (2 h), L-7-G protected DNA in Caco-2 cells from damage induced by H(2)O(2) (75 microM); also, after a long incubation (24 h), SF, RA, and L-7-G had protective effects in Caco-2 cells. In HeLa cells, SO, SF, and RA protected against damage induced by H(2)O(2) after 24 h of incubation. Assays of DNA repair show that SO, SF, and L-7-G increased the rate of DNA repair (rejoining of strand breaks) in Caco-2 cells treated with H(2)O(2). The incision activity of a Caco-2 cell extract on a DNA substrate containing specific damage (8-oxoGua) was also measured to evaluate effects on base excision repair (BER) activity. Preincubation for 24 h with SO and L-7-G had a BER inductive effect, increasing incision activity in Caco-2 cells. In conclusion, SO, SF, and the isolated compounds (RA and L-7-G) demonstrated chemopreventive activity by protecting cells against oxidative DNA damage and stimulating DNA repair (SO, SF, and L-7-G).