Antitumor activity ofHypericum hookerianum against DLA induced tumor in mice and its possible mechanism of action

Review On Documented Medicinal Plants Used For The Treatment Of Cancer

Background:

Cancer is a frightful disease and it is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Naturally derived compounds are gaining interest of research workers as they have less toxic side effects as compared to currently used treatments such as chemotherapy. Plants are the pool of chemical compounds which provides a promising future for research on cancer.

Objective:

This review paper provides updated information gathered on medicinal plants and isolated phytoconstituents used as anticancer agents and summarises the plant extracts and their isolated chemical constituents exhibiting anticancer potential on clinical trials.

Methods:

An extensive bibliographic investigation was carried out by analysing worldwide established scientific databases like SCOPUS, PUBMED, SCIELO, ScienceDirect, Springerlink, Web of Science, Wiley, SciFinder and Google Scholar etc. In next few decades, herbal medicine may become a new epoch of medical system.

Results:

Many researches are going on medicinal plants for the treatment of cancer but it is a time to increase further experimental studies on plant extracts and their chemical constituents to find out their mechanism of action at molecular level.

Conclusion:

The article may help many researchers to start off further experimentation that might lead to the drugs for the cancer treatment.

Antiproliferative Effects of St. John's Wort, Its Derivatives, and Other Hypericum Species in Hematologic Malignancies

Hypericum is a widely present plant, and extracts of its leaves, flowers, and aerial elements have been employed for many years as therapeutic cures for depression, skin wounds, and respiratory and inflammatory disorders. Hypericum also displays an ample variety of other biological actions, such as hypotensive, analgesic, anti-infective, anti-oxidant, and spasmolytic abilities. However, recent investigations highlighted that this species could be advantageous for the cure of other pathological situations, such as trigeminal neuralgia, as well as in the treatment of cancer. This review focuses on the in vitro and in vivo antitumor effects of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum), its derivatives, and other Hypericum species in hematologic malignancies. Hypericum induces apoptosis in both myeloid and lymphoid cells. Other Hypericum targets include matrix metalloproteinase-2, vascular endothelial growth factor, and matrix metalloproteinase-9, which are mediators of cell migration and angiogenesis. Hypericum also downregulates the expression of proteins that are involved in the resistance of leukemia cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Finally, Hypericum and its derivatives appear to have photodynamic effects and are candidates for applications in tumor photodynamic therapy. Although the in vitro studies appear promising, controlled in vivo studies are necessary before we can hypothesize the introduction of Hypericum and its derivatives into clinical practice for the treatment of hematologic malignancies.

Ethnopharmacology of Hypericum species in China: A comprehensive review on ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Hypericum species have been used traditionally as astringent, antipyretic, diuretic, antiphlogistic, analgesic, and antidepressant in Europe, America, Africa, and Asia. One of the most extensively investigated medicinal herbs, H. perforatum L. (St. John's wort), is widely used in many countries to treat mild to moderate mental depression. Hypericum species are abundant throughout China, including 30 used as ethnomedicines. There are limited publications describing the ethnobotanical uses and biological activities associated with Hypericum species in China. Some reported activities include the treatment of wounds and bruises, irregular menstruation, dysentery, hepatitis, mastitis, jaundice, hemoptysis, and epistaxis.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

This review aims to critically examine how Hypericum species are used ethnomedicinally in China, to see if the ethnobotanical data may be useful to help prioritize Hypericum species and certain phytochemical constituents that may be new drug leads, and consider the focus and lack of the phytopharmacological study on Hypericum species in China.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Classic medicinal books and ethnomedicinal publications were reviewed for the genus Hypericum (called jin si tao in Chinese). In addition, relevant information about ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and pharmacology were from online databases including SciFinder, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). "Hypericum", "", "ethnobotany", "traditional use", "ethnomedicine", "phytochemistry", "pharmacology" and "bioactivity" were used as keywords when searching the databases. Thus, available articles from 1959 to 2019 were collected and analyzed.

RESULTS

Among 64 Hypericum species recorded in China, 30 have been used as ethnomedicines by 15 linguistic groups such as Dai, Dong, Han, Miao, and Mongolian people. Hypericum species in China possess traditional uses which are also mirrored in Europe, America, Africa, and other countries in Asia. However, there are some unique ethnomedicinal uses in China. For example, several Hypericum species are used as a local remedy in southwest China, and H. attenuatum Fisch. ex Choisy is used to treat cardiac disorders in northeast China. Antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, antidepressant, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, and antiviral activities have been reported in numerous biological studies. The main phytochemical constituents in Hypericum consist of phloroglucinols, naphthodianthrones, xanthones, flavonoids, and terpenoids.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a rich traditional knowledge regarding the ethnomedicinal uses of Hypericum species in China. Through phytochemical and pharmacological studies, several medicinal Hypericum from China have yielded many bioactive phytochemicals, possessing antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and neuroprotective properties. Hypericum species from China are potential sources of drugs to fight cancer and other chronic diseases. Remarkably, nearly half of Hypericum species in China have rarely been studied, and their ethnomedicinal potential have not been scientifically evaluated. Thus, in vitro mechanistic studies, in vivo pharmacology, and clinical efficacy are all needed, prioritizing those studies that relate most closely with their traditional uses. In addition, a comprehensive plant-resource evaluation, quality control, and toxicology studies are needed.

Echinochrome Exhibits Antitumor Activity against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma in Swiss Albino Mice

Background: Echinochrome (Ech) is a common pigment present in sea urchins, which has antioxidant, antimicrobial, antialgal, hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic activities.Purpose: The present investigation assessed the anticancer and antioxidant activities of Ech against the Ehrlich ascites carcinoma tumor model in mice.Methods: Forty female mice were divided into four groups (n = 10). All groups except the group I received EAC cells (5 × 10⁶ cells/mouse i.p.). Group I, served as saline control (5 ml/kg 0.9% NaCl w/v p.o); group II served as EAC; groups III and IV received Ech (1 mg/kg body weight i.p.), and reference drug (5-Fu, 20 mg/kg body weight i.p.) respectively. Tumor markers, hematological parameters, liver functions, kidney functions and oxidative stress markers were analyzed in the present study.Results: A significant decrease (p < 0.05) were detected in the tumor volume, tumor cell counts, tumor cells viability, WBC count, MDA, urea, uric acid, AST, ALT, and ALP levels in Ech-treated mice. Furthermore, Ech-treated mice showed significant increases in RBCs count, Hb, Pt, GSH, CAT, and GST levels.Conclusion: The study results revealed that echinochrome suppresses tumor growth, decreases lipid peroxidation and improves the antioxidant status.

Potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action of Hypericum hookerianum extracts in a liposome system evaluated with zebrafish embryos

The purpose of this study was to assess the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of liposomal formulations enriched with Hypericum hookerianum (Hyp) aqueous extracts. Cotyledon segments derived from protocorms of H. hookerianum were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media supplemented with Kinetin (KN, 1 mgl-1) and Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA, 0.1 mgl-1) to induce hypericin-rich red shoots (HypR, 0.87 mg/G DW). Highly stable liposomes (-29.4 mV) were successfully developed which encapsulated 63 ± 0.8% Hyp extracts, respectively. MTT assay subsequently confirmed the biocompatibility of liposome compositions using fibroblast cell lines. This work also evaluated acute toxicity of L-HypR and L-HypG formulations using Danio rerio (Zebrafish) embryos for 96 hpf. The expression of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory genes were found to be upregulated for L-HypR than L-HypG (green shoots without hypericin) formulations. These properties of L-HypR may be extremely useful for incorporating lipophilic substances into the food or pharmaceutical industry.

Natural products chemistry: The emerging trends and prospective goals

The role and contributions of natural products chemistry in advancements of the physical and biological sciences, its interdisciplinary domains, and emerging of new avenues by providing novel applications, constructive inputs, thrust, comprehensive understanding, broad perspective, and a new vision for future is outlined. The developmental prospects in bio-medical, health, nutrition, and other interrelated sciences along with some of the emerging trends in the subject area are also discussed as part of the current review of the basic and core developments, innovation in techniques, advances in methodology, and possible applications with their effects on the sciences in general and natural products chemistry in particular. The overview of the progress and ongoing developments in broader areas of the natural products chemistry discipline, its role and concurrent economic and scientific implications, contemporary objectives, future prospects as well as impending goals are also outlined. A look at the natural products chemistry in providing scientific progress in various disciplines is deliberated upon.

Evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of Hypericum spp. on human glioblastoma A1235 and breast cancer MDA MB-231 cells

Cytotoxic activity of 16 Hypericum ethanolic extracts was evaluated by MTT assay on two human cancer cell lines: glioblastoma A1235 and breast cancer MDA MB-231. Morphology and the type of induced cell death were determined using light and fluorescence microscopy. The majority of Hypericum extracts had no significant cytotoxic effect on MDA MB-231 cells. Eight extracts exhibited mild cytotoxic effect on A1235 cells after 24 h incubation, ranging from 8.0% (H. patulum) to 21.7% (H. oblongifolium). After 72 h of treatment, the strongest inhibition of A1235 viability was observed for extracts of H. androsaemum (26.4-43.9%), H. balearicum (25.8-36.3%), H. delphicum (14.8-27.4%) and H. densiflorum (11.2-24.1%). Micro-scopic examination of cells showed apoptosis as the dominant type of cell death. Due to observed high viability of treated cells, we propose that cytotoxic effects of Hypericum extracts could be related to alternations/interruptions in the cell cycle.

Chemopreventive effect and HPTLC fingerprinting analysis of Jasminum sambac (L.) Ait. Extract against DLA-induced lymphoma in experimental animals

The anticancer activity of the ethanolic extract of Jasminum sambac against Dalton's lymphoma ascites-induced lymphatic cancer in Swiss albino mice was investigated. The anticancer activity of J. sambac was studied against lymphoma using lipid profiles, biochemical parameters, and membrane-bound marker enzymes by standard procedures. A high-performance thin-layer chromatography fingerprinting analysis showed the presence of terpenoids and flavonoids. The levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, VLDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were significantly decreased in tumor-induced mice, while HDL cholesterol showed increased levels compared with those profiles. On treatment with J. sambac, the levels were brought back to near normal. The albumin, creatinine, total protein, urea, and uric acid contents were also approaching normal values. There was s significant increase in the levels of ATPase in group II. These levels were brought back to normal upon plant extract treatment of mice. DNA fragmentation occurred in the tumor-induced group of tissue, and treatment with ethanolic extract reduced the DNA damage caused by lymphoma. Expression of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes shows an increase in the levels of LDH-4 and LDH-5 in cancer-bearing animals which is brought back to near normal. Histopathological investigation showed normal sections of liver tissues in the treatment group. The results found in mice treated with ethanolic extract 100 mg kg(-1) body weight quite promising and were comparable with the standard drug 5-fluorouracil. The statistically processed results support the conclusion that the ethanolic extract of J. sambac flower (100 mg kg(-1)) possesses a dose-dependent significant anticancer activity against lymphoma.