Cyto/Genotoxic Effects of Pistacia atlantica Resin, a Traditional Gum

Four Pistacia atlantica subspecies (atlantica, cabulica, kurdica and mutica): A review of their botany, ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Pistacia atlantica (wild pistachio) belongs to the Anacardiaceae family, and growing from the Mediterranean basin to central Asia, especially in Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Saudi Arabia where it is extensively used in traditional medicine for a wide range of ailments related to relieving upper abdominal discomfort and pain, dyspepsia and peptic ulcer.

OBJECTIVE

Despite the diverse biological activities of P. atlantica, there is no current review summarizing medicinal properties of its subspecies, including cabulica, kurdica and mutica. Thus, this paper aims to explore the current understanding of the chemical, pharmacological, and biochemical properties of the extracts and the main active constituents found in each subspecies of this plant.

METHODS

Peer-reviewed articles, using "Pistacia atlantica" as search term (″all fields″), were retrieved from Scifinder, Pubmed, Science direct, Wiley, Springer, ACS, Scielo, Web of Science and other web search instruments (Google Scholar, Yahoo search). Papers published until July 2020 are considered. In addition, various books were consulted that contained botanical and ethnopharmacological information. The information provided in this review is based on peer-reviewed papers in English and French.

RESULTS

Phytochemical studies have shown the presence of numerous valuable compounds, including volatile compounds, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, fatty acids, tocopherols and phytosterols. P. atlantica contains also minerals and trace elements, like iron, lead, copper, potassium, sodium and calcium; fatty acids, like oleic, linoleic, and palmitic acid; fat-soluble vitamins, such as α, β, γ and δ tocopherols; phytosterols, like betasitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol and Δ⁵-avenasterol. Crude extracts and isolated compounds from P. atlantica show a wide range of pharmacological properties, such as antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antinociceptive, wound healing, anticancer, cytotoxic, anticholinesterase, antidiabetic, hepatoprotective, urease inhibition, antihypertension, nipple fissure healing, antileishmanial and antiplasmodial activities. However, there are no reports summarizing the P. atlantica bioactivity, its therapeutic value, and the roles played by each of the numerous phytoconstituents.

CONCLUSION

Many traditional uses of P. atlantica and its subspecies have now been confirmed by pharmacologic research. Systematic phytochemical investigation of the P. atlantica subspecies and the pharmacological properties, especially the mechanisms of action and toxicology, to illustrate their ethnomedicinal use, to explore the therapeutic potential and support further health-care product development, will undoubtedly be the focus of further research. Therefore, detailed and extensive studies and clinical evaluation of P. atlantica subspecies should be carried out in future for the safety approval of therapeutic applications.

Bitter apricot ethanolic extract induces apoptosis through increasing expression of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and caspase-3 in PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cells

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth common cause of cancer death. Surgery and chemotherapy are the common treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer patients; however, the response rate is less than 20% at advanced stages. In recent years, growing interest has been dedicated to natural products. Bitter apricot seeds possess a number of pharmacological properties including antitumor activity and amygdalin from bitter apricot seeds can induce apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the cyto/genotoxic effects of bitter apricot ethanolic extract (BAEE) and amygdalin on human pancreatic cancer PANC-1 and normal epithelial 293/KDR cells. BAEE was assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography for the confirmation of the structure. The biological impacts of BAEE and amygdalin on PANC-1 and 293/KDR cells were evaluated by MTT assay, DAPI staining, AnnexinV/PI and Real-time qPCR analysis. BAEE and amygdalin inhibited cancer cell growth in a dose- and time-dependent manner. DAPI staining and flow cytometric analysis revealed fragmented nuclei and elevated numbers of early and late apoptotic cells, respectively. Also, increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and upregulation of caspase-3 further confirmed the occurrence of apoptosis in PANC-1 cells, but not in non-cancerous 293/KDR cells. These results indicate that BAEE could mediate apoptosis induction in cancer cells through a mitochondria dependent pathway. These findings suggest that BAEE functions as a potent pro-apoptotic factor for human pancreatic cancer cells without a significant effect on 293/KDR cells. Though, the potent anti-cancer components of BAEE should be further identified. Moreover, in vivo investigations are required to confirm bitter apricot ethanolic extract's clinical value as an anti-tumor drug.

Phytochemical analysis and antioxidant and anticancer activities of mastic gum resin from Pistacia atlantica subspecies kurdica

BACKGROUND

The mastic gum resin has been used in traditional Kurdish medicine for treating various disorders such as topical wound and gastric ulcer. The study designed to evaluate the total polyphenol and flavonoid content, free radical scavenging activity, and anticancer effects of mastic gum resin derived from Pistacia atlantica subspecies kurdica.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Folin -Ciocalteau and the aluminum chloride colorimetric assays were used to determine the total phenol and flavonoid contents in the mastic gum resin respectively. Whereas, DPPH and ABTS+ assays were used to determine the antioxidant activities of mastic gum resin. Regarding anticancer activities, the MTT assay was used to study the effect of mastic gum resin on the proliferation of various cancer cells and the morphological changes were identified after Acridine Orange/Propidium Iodide staining. Flow cytometry was applied to determine the influence of mastic gum resin on the apoptosis rate by Annexin V double staining and to investigate the influence on cell cycle progression. Caspase colorimetric assay was used to estimate the hallmark enzyme of apoptosis, and finally RNA were obtained from COLO205 cells and analyzed by qRT-PCR analyses.

RESULTS

The MTT results showed that the mastic gum resin at concentrations from 0.01 to 100 μM induced death of cancer cells in a dose and time-dependent manner. The mastic gum resin suppressed proliferation of human cancer cells with 72 h IC50 value of 15.34 ± 0.21, 11.52 ± 0.18, 8.11 ± 0.23 and 5.2 ± 0.8 μg/mL for bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) (KMBC), pancreatic carcinoma (PANC-1), gastric adenocarcinoma (CRL-1739), and colonic adenocarcinoma (COLO205) cells, respectively. Normal human colon fibroblast (CCD-18Co) cells were not adversely affected by resin treatment. Flow cytometry showed that the mastic gum resin significantly (P<0.05) arrested COLO205 cell proliferation at the G2/M phase of cell cycle. The resin caused apoptotic morphological changes in COLO205 cells. The apoptotic effect to mastic gum resin was via the mitochondrial as shown by the up-regulation of Bax, down-regulation of Bcl-2 genes, and activation of caspase-9 and -3 activities.

CONCLUSION

It was confirmed that the antiproliferative efficacy of the resin is positively correlated with its polyphenolic contents, suggesting a causal link related to exudate content of phenolic acid and flavonoids. The results revealed that the mastic gum resin has potential to be developed as an anticancer and antioxidant product due to its high content of polyphenol compounds.

Toxicity and toxicokinetic study of RPh201 in Sprague-Dawley rats

Mastic gum is used for health products and in the food industry, and is being tested for several clinical indications. Nevertheless, information on its safety is scarce. Our aim was to test the local and systemic toxicity of RPh201, a botanical extract of gum mastic, and to assess the toxicokinetic profile of the mastic gum constituents masticadienonic acid (MDA) and isomasticadienonic acid (IMDA). 340 Sprague-Dawley rats were administered twice weekly subcutaneously with placebo or different doses of RPh201 for 6 months with an interim group at 3 months and a 4-week recovery group. No systemic toxicity was observed with RPh201. Local injection site reactions were observed in all animals, with comparable severity and frequency in the placebo and high dose groups. However, given the relative increase in tissue reaction in the high dose group, these changes were attributed to RPh201 administration. Nevertheless, considering the minor local irritation effects and clear trend for reversibility, the effects were not judged to be adverse. The toxicokinetic study revealed that the MDA and IMDA exposure increased with dose and the increase was supra-proportional on all days. This study supports a "no observed adverse effect level" (NOAEL) of 300 mg/kg body weight in Sprague-Dawley rats.