Ethanol extract of Ophiorrhiza pumila suppresses liver cancer cell proliferation and migration

Herbal compounds as promising therapeutic agents in precision medicine strategies for cancer: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The field of personalized medicine has gained increasing attention in cancer care, with the aim of tailoring treatment strategies to individual patients for improved outcomes. Herbal medicine, with its long-standing historical use and extensive bioactive compounds, offers a rich source of potential treatments for various diseases, including cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To provide an overview of the current knowledge and evidence associated with incorporating herbal compounds into precision medicine strategies for cancer diseases. Additionally, to explore the general characteristics of the studies included in the analysis, focusing on their key features and trends.

SEARCH STRATEGY

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from multiple online databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and CINAHL-EBSCO. The search strategy was designed to identify studies related to personalized cancer medicine and herbal interventions.

INCLUSION CRITERIA

Publications pertaining to cancer research conducted through in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies, employing natural products were included in this review.

DATA EXTRACTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently applied inclusion and inclusion criteria, data extraction, and assessments of methodological quality. The quality assessment and biases of the studies were evaluated based on modified Jadad scales. A detailed quantitative summary of the included studies is presented, providing a comprehensive description of their key features and findings.

RESULTS

A total of 121 studies were included in this review for analysis. Some of them were considered as comprehensive experimental investigations both in vitro and in vivo. The majority (n = 85) of the studies included in this review were conducted in vitro, with 44 of them specifically investigating the effects of herbal medicine on animal models. Additionally, 7 articles with a combined sample size of 31,271 patients, examined the impact of herbal medicine in clinical settings.

CONCLUSION

Personalized medication can optimize the use of herbal medicine in cancer treatment by considering individual patient factors such as genetics, medical history, and other treatments. Additionally, active phytochemicals found in herbs have shown potential for inhibiting cancer cell growth and inducing apoptosis, making them a promising area of research in preclinical and clinical investigations. Please cite this article as: Tayeb BA, Kusuma IY, Osman AAM, Minorics R. Herbal compounds as promising therapeutic agents in precision medicine strategies for cancer: A systematic review. J Integr Med. 2024; 22(2): 137-162.

Bioinformatics-based and multiscale convolutional neural network screening of herbal medicines for improving the prognosis of liver cancer: a novel approach

Background

Liver cancer is one of the major diseases threatening human life and health, and this study aims to explore new methods for treating liver cancer.

Methods

A deep learning model for the efficacy of clinical herbal medicines for liver cancer was constructed based on NDCNN, combined with the natural evolutionary rules of a genetic algorithm to obtain the herbal compound for liver cancer treatment. We obtained differential genes between liver cancer tissues and normal tissues from the analysis of TCGA database, screened the active ingredients and corresponding targets of the herbal compound using the TCMSP database, mapped the intersection to obtain the potential targets of the herbal compound for liver cancer treatment in the Venny platform, constructed a PPI network, and conducted GO analysis and KEGG analysis on the targets of the herbal compound for liver cancer treatment. Finally, the key active ingredients and important targets were molecularly docked.

Results

The accuracy of the NDCNN training set was 0.92, and the accuracy of the test set was 0.84. After combining with the genetic algorithm for 1,000 iterations, a set of Chinese herbal compound prescriptions was finally the output. A total of 86 targets of the herbal compound for liver cancer were obtained, mainly five core targets of IL-6, ESR1, JUN, IL1β, and MMP9. Among them, quercetin, kaempferol, and stigmasterol may be the key active ingredients in hepatocellular carcinoma, and the herbal compound may be participating in an inflammatory response and the immune regulation process by mediating the IL-17 signaling pathway, the TNF signaling pathway, and so on. The anticancer effects of the herbal compound may be mediated by the IL-17 signaling pathway, the TNF signaling pathway, and other signaling pathways involved in inflammatory response and immune regulation. Molecular docking showed that the three core target proteins produced stable binding to the two main active ingredients.

Conclusion

The screening of effective herbal compounds for the clinical treatment of liver cancer based on NDCNN and genetic algorithms is a feasible approach and will provide ideas for the development of herbal medicines for the treatment of liver cancer and other cancers.

Possible Mechanism of Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants Seed Extract Suppresses the Migration and Invasion of Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells SMMC-7721

Mexican tea (Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants) is rich in phenolic acids and flavonoids and could be a potential medicinal herb that can be used for prevention of human hepatocellular carcinoma. The objective of this study was to elaborate the possible mechanism for the prevention or treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma using Mexican tea, and to provide new avenues for the utilization of the invasive plant. In this study, the D. ambrosioides seed extracts (CSE) were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the effects of CSE on proliferation, migration, invasion, and gene expression of SMMC-7721 cells were investigated. Eight compounds were identified in CSE, and the compound with the highest content was ascaridole (25.82 %). The proliferation was significantly inhibited by CSE (p<0.05), and IC50 values were 0.587 g/L, 0.360 g/L, and 0.361 g/L at 24 h, 36 h, and 48 h, respectively. Migration and invasion were significantly inhibited (p<0.05). The network pharmacology and transcriptome analysis indicated that 2-hydroxy-2,6,6-trimethylbicyclo[3.1.1]heptan-3-one, cis-11-eicosenoic acid and 2-ethylcyclohexanone might be the active compounds. Transcriptome analysis indicated that the Wnt signaling pathway, which is related to migration and invasion, was significantly altered; this was verified by western blot assay. The expression of wnt11, lef1 and mmp7 genes in SMMC-7721 cells was significantly down-regulated (p<0.05), while gsk-3β was significantly up-regulated (p<0.05). These results indicate that CSE inhibits the invasion and migration of SMMC-7721 cells in hepatocellular carcinoma through the Wnt signaling pathway.

Suppressive Effects of Siegesbeckia orientalis Ethanolic Extract on Proliferation and Migration of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells through Promoting Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis and Inflammatory Responses

Previous studies have demonstrated that Siegesbeckia orientalis (SO) has a suppressive effect on the growth and migration of endometrial and cervical cancer cells. The present study examined the effect of SO ethanolic extract (SOE) on the proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and examined the effects of SOE on non-cancerous cells using HaCaT keratinocytes as a model. The SOE effectively inhibited the proliferation of Hepa1-6 (IC₅₀ = 282.4 μg/mL) and HepG2 (IC₅₀ = 344.3 μg/mL) hepatoma cells, whereas it has less cytotoxic effect on HaCaT cells (IC₅₀ = 892.4 μg/mL). The SOE treatment increased the generation of ROS in HCC, but decreased the expression of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase. In contrast, it reduced intracellular ROS formation and upregulated the expression of the related antioxidant enzymes in the H₂O₂-stimulated HaCaT cells. The SOE intervention also down-regulated the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 and the migration-related proteins including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and β-catenin in the HCC, suggesting that SOE could promote HCC apoptosis and inhibit HCC migration. On the contrary, it reduced apoptosis and promoted the migration of the keratinocytes. Additionally, the SOE treatment significantly up-regulated the pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β, in Hepa1-6 and HepG2 cells. Conversely, it significantly decreased the expression of these cytokines in the H₂O₂-induced HaCaT cells. These findings indicated that SOE treatment can delay the progression of HCC by increasing oxidative stress, promoting inflammatory response, inducing cancer cell apoptosis and inhibiting their migration. It also has protective effects from pro-oxidant H₂O₂ in non-cancerous cells. Therefore, SOE may provide a potential treatment for liver cancer.

In vitro and in vivo anti-lymphoma effects of Ophiorrhiza pumila extract

Background: Current therapeutic strategies on patients with lymphomas remains limited. Previously we found the suppressive effect of Ophiorrhiza pumila (OPE) on hepatocarcinoma. In present study, the effect of OPE on lymphoma in vitro and in vivo were investigated.

Methods: CCK-8 assay was applied to detect the effect of OPE on cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the effect of OPE on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis. Xenograft mouse model was conducted to determine the anti-tumor activity of OPE. TNUEL assay was performed to detect the apoptosis in tumor tissues. Western blot and immuno-histochemistry were used to determine protein expression.

Results: In vitro tests indicate that OPE suppressed A20 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. OPE treatment induced cell cycle arrest at S phase and elevated apoptosis in A20 cells. OPE displayed a significant inhibition in tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model. OPE promoted apoptosis of tumor cell in the mouse model Cleaved caspase 3 expression and Bax/Bcl2 ratio were also enhanced. In addition, OPE suppressed A20 cell viability partially by reducing phosphorylation of EGFR.

Conclusions: Our data showed that OPE suppressed the proliferation of lymphoma cells and promoted apoptosis in vitro and in vivo, which might be partially mediated by inactivating EGFR signaling.

Characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the complete chloroplast genome of Ophiorrhiza pumila (Rubiaceae)

Ophiorrhiza pumila (Rubiaceae) is an herbaceous plant that grows streamside in forest gullies or wetlands in the shade. Complete chloroplast genome of O. pumila was obtained and analyzed its phylogeny relationship within Rubiaceae plants. The results showed that the genome had a typical quadripartite structure of 154,385 bp, and contained a total of 112 unique genes, including 79 protein-coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that O. pumila is sister to a highly supported clade composed of 10 species including Morinda officinalis, Gynochthodes cochinchinensis, Saprosma merrillii, Hedyotis ovata, Foonchewia guangdongensis, Dunnia sinensis, Paederia scandens, Leptodermis scabrida, Rubia cordifolia, and Galium mollugo. The complete chloroplast genome provides valuable information for the phylogenetic analysis of O. pumila.

Anticancer property of Hemp Bioactive Peptides in Hep3B liver cancer cells through Akt/GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathway

Foodborne protein hydrolysates exhibit biological activity that may be therapeutic in a number of human disease settings. Hemp peptides (HP) generated by controlled hydrolysis of hemp proteins have a number of health benefits and are of pharmaceutical value. In the present study, we produce small molecular weight HP from hemp seed and investigate its anticancer properties in Hep3B human liver cancer cells. We demonstrate that HP treatment increased apoptosis, reduced cell viability, and reduced cell migration in Hep3B human liver cancer cells without affecting the normal liver cell line L02. We correlate these phenotypes with increased cellular ROS levels, upregulation of cleaved caspase 3 and Bad, and downregulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2. HP treatment led to increased Akt and GSK-3β phosphorylation, with subsequent downregulation of β-catenin, suggesting β-catenin signaling modulation as a critical mechanism by which HP exhibits anticancer properties. Our findings suggest HP are of potential therapeutic interest for liver cancer treatment.

Anti-Proliferative and Genotoxic Activities of the Helichrysum petiolare Hilliard & B.L. Burtt

Helichrysum petiolare (Asteraceae family) is part of the Helichrysum genus which comprises of an estimated 600 species. Several parts of the plant have been used traditionally for the treatment of various ailments, such as cough, infection, asthma, chest problems, diabetes and wounds. Given its various chemical constituents with anticancer properties, there has been no scientific evidence of its usage for the treatment of cancer. This study aims to investigate the anti-proliferative and genotoxic activities of H. petiolare methanol extract. The cytotoxic effect and cell cycle analysis of mouse melanoma cells (B16F10) and human melanoma cells (MeWo) were assessed using the ImageXpress Micro XLS Widefield High-Content Analysis System. The genotoxic potential of the extract towards Vero cells was also assessed using the micronucleus assay. The extract displayed cytotoxicity towards B16F10 and MeWo skin melanoma cells, thereby showing a dose-dependent decrease in cell density. This was preceded by cell cycle arrest in B16F10 cells at the S phase and MeWo cell arrest at the early M phase with a significant increase in apoptosis in both cells. Furthermore, the extract displayed genotoxic potential at the tested concentrations (12.5–200 μg/mL). Overall, the results revealed that H. petiolare extract may have the potential to eradicate skin cancer.