Four Togolese plant species exhibiting cytotoxicity and antitumor activities lightning polytherapy approach in cancer treatment

Background

Cancer is leading to premature deaths across the globe. Therapeutic approaches are still being developed to enhance the survival of cancer patients. In our previous study, extracts from four Togolese plants, namely, Cochlospermum planchonii (CP), Piliostigma thonningii (PT), Paullinia pinnata (PP), and Securidaca longipedunculata (SL), actually used in traditional medicine for cancer treatment, showed beneficial health effects against oxidative stress, inflammation, and angiogenesis.

Purpose

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the cytotoxicity and antitumor activities of these four plant extracts.

Material and methods

Breast, lung, cervical, and liver cancer cell lines were exposed to the extracts, and viability was assessed using the Sulforhodamine B method. P. pinnata and S. longipedunculata with significant cytotoxicity were selected for in vivo tests. The acute oral toxicity of these extracts was assessed using BALB/c mice. The antitumor activity was evaluated using the EAC tumor bearing mice model, wherein mice were orally treated with extracts at different concentrations for 14 days. The standard drug was cisplatin (3.5 mg/kg, i.p), single dose.

Results

Cytotoxicity tests revealed that SL, PP, and CP extracts have more than 50% cytotoxicity at 150 μg/mL. The acute oral toxicity of PP and SL at 2000 mg/kg did not show any toxic signs. At therapeutic doses of 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg of PP and 40 mg/kg, 80 mg/kg, and 160 mg/kg of SL, extracts showed beneficial health effects by modulating several biological parameters. SL extract significantly reduced tumor volume (P < 0.001), cell viability, and normalized hematological parameters. SL also demonstrated a strong anti-inflammatory activity similar to the standard drug. The SL extract also revealed a significant increase of the life span of treated mice. PP extract reduced the tumor volume and significantly improved the values of endogenous antioxidants. Both PP and SL extracts also exerted significant anti-angiogenic potency.

Conclusion

The study indicated that polytherapy would be a panacea for the efficient use of medicinal plant extracts against cancer. This approach will make it possible to act simultaneously on several biological parameters. Molecular studies of both extracts targeting key cancer genes in several cancer cells are currently underway.

Innovative nanotheranostics: Smart nanoparticles based approach to overcome breast cancer stem cells mediated chemo- and radioresistances

The alarming increase in the number of breast cancer patients worldwide and the increasing death rate indicate that the traditional and current medicines are insufficient to fight against it. The onset of chemo- and radioresistances and cancer stem cell-based recurrence make this problem harder, and this hour needs a novel treatment approach. Competent nanoparticle-based accurate drug delivery and cancer nanotheranostics like photothermal therapy, photodynamic therapy, chemodynamic therapy, and sonodynamic therapy can be the key to solving this problem due to their unique characteristics. These innovative formulations can be a better cargo with fewer side effects than the standard chemotherapy and can eliminate the stability problems associated with cancer immunotherapy. The nanotheranostic systems can kill the tumor cells and the resistant breast cancer stem cells by novel mechanisms like local hyperthermia and reactive oxygen species and prevent tumor recurrence. These theranostic systems can also combine with chemotherapy or immunotherapy approaches. These combining approaches can be the future of anticancer therapy, especially to overcome the breast cancer stem cells mediated chemo- and radioresistances. This review paper discusses several novel theranostic systems and smart nanoparticles, their mechanism of action, and their modifications with time. It explains their relevance and market scope in the current era. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease.

Ethnopharmacological evaluation of antioxidant, anti-angiogenic, and anti-inflammatory activity of some traditional medicinal plants used for treatment of cancer in Togo/Africa

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Cancer is a multistep disease and its management is exceedingly expensive. Nowadays medicinal plants are gaining more attention in drug discovery and approximately 70% of anticancer drugs were developed from natural products or plants. A strong candidate from medicinal plant with anticancer potential should have four major properties: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and cytotoxic activities.

AIM OF THE STUDY

In order to assess Togolese traditional healer's claims about the anticancer potential of medicinal plants and obtain candidate plants for anticancer drug discovery, some species were selected from surveys and evaluated for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and cytotoxic activities.

METHODS

Four species, Cochlospermum planchonii (CP), Piliostigma thonningii (PT), Paullinia pinnata (PP), and Securidaca longipedunculata (SL) were selected and analyzed to detect the phytochemical components. The mentioned bioactivities were evaluated using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo assays.

RESULTS

Relative to SL extract, CP and PT have shown significantly high polyphenols and flavonoids content. The DPPH, FRAP, and TAC of the extracts revealed that CP, PT, and PP have a potent antioxidant effect compared to SL. MDA analysis revealed the same antioxidant activity as CP, PT and PP showed a minor MDA level. The egg albumin denaturation assay showed that IC50 of CP and PP was significantly higher than control (P < 0.05). In contrast, the Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) results showed a nonsignificant effect (P > 0.05). Notably, SL extract was nonsignificant to control in both Egg Albumin and BSA. Furthermore, angiogenesis assay showed that SL at 50 μg/ml and PP at 100 μg/ml effectively reduced the number of blood vessels than control and showed a potent anti-angiogenic effect (2.7-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively, P < 0.05). No cytotoxicity on PBMC was reported for CP, PP, and PT up to 1000 μg/ml, whereas SL at 1000 μg/ml exhibit benign cytotoxicity (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION

This study provided in vitro evidence supporting further evaluation on cancer cell lines and tumors in vivo.

Therapeutic Potential of Nutraceuticals and Dietary Supplements in the Prevention of Viral Diseases: A Review

Nowadays, despite enormous scientific advances, viral diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity worldwide, and their potential to spread is escalating, eventually turning into pandemics. Nutrition can play a major role in supporting the immune system of the body and for the optimal functioning of the cells of the immune system. A healthy diet encompassing vitamins, multi-nutrient supplements, functional foods, nutraceuticals, and probiotics can play a pivotal role in combating several viral invasions in addition to strengthening the immune system. This review provides comprehensive information on diet-based scientific recommendations, evidence, and worldwide case studies in light of the current pandemic and also with a particular focus on virus-induced respiratory tract infections. After reviewing the immune potential of nutraceuticals based on the lab studies and on human studies, it was concluded that bioactive compounds such as nutraceuticals, vitamins, and functional foods (honey, berries, etc.) with proven antiviral efficacy, in addition to pharmaceutical medication or alone as dietary supplements, can prove instrumental in treating a range of virus-induced infections in addition to strengthening the immune system. Milk proteins and peptides can also act as adjuvants for the design of more potent novel antiviral drugs.