Bio-Guided Fractionation of Papaya Leaf Juice for Delineating the Components Responsible for the Selective Anti-proliferative Effects on Prostate Cancer Cells

Alternative therapies against cancer cells with minimal or no effect on healthy tissues are highly sought after. Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequently diagnosed malignancy in males. The Carica papaya L. leaf extract has been traditionally used by Australian aboriginal people for anticancer properties. In this study, medium polar fraction of papaya leaf extract that had shown anti-proliferative activity in PCa cell lines in vitro, in earlier studies, was further fractionated to 28 fractions by semi-preparative HPLC. Nine of these fractions were identified to possess selective anti-proliferative responses on PCa cells in comparison to non-cancerous cells of prostate gland origin. When these nine sub-fractions were mixed in various combinations, a combination containing six of the specific fractions (FC-3) showed the best potency. FC3 inhibited the growth of BPH-1, PC-3, and LNCaP cells in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC₅₀ value <20 μg/mL, while (unlike paclitaxel, the positive control) minimal effect was observed on the proliferation of non-cancerous, WPMY-1 and RWPE-1cells. Furthermore, synergistic interaction of FC-3 with paclitaxel was observed with combination index values in the range of 0.89–0.98 and 0.85–1.10 on PC-3 and LNCaP cells, respectively. Untargeted qualitative analysis using UHPLC (Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography)-QToF (Quadrupole Time of-Flight) mass spectrometry and screening against the METLIN database indicated presence of multiple known anticancer compounds in the FC-3 extract. These outcomes show that the potent and selective anti-proliferative effects are due to a range of bio-active compounds within the medium polar fraction of papaya leaf juice.

Standardized Polyalthia longifolia leaf extract (PLME) inhibits cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis: The anti-cancer study with various microscopy methods

Over the years a number of microscopy methods have been developed to assess the changes in cells. Some non-invasive techniques such as holographic digital microscopy (HDM), which although does not destroy the cells, but helps to monitor the events that leads to initiation of apoptotic cell death. In this study, the apoptogenic property and the cytotoxic effect of P. longifolia leaf methanolic extract (PLME) against the human cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa) was studied using light microscope (LM), holographic digital microscopy (HDM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The average IC₅₀ value of PLME against HeLa cells obtained by MTT and CyQuant assay was 22.00μg/mL at 24h. However, noncancerous Vero cells tested with PLME exhibited no cytotoxicity with the IC₅₀ value of 51.07μg/mL at 24h by using MTT assay. Cytological observations showed nuclear condensation, cell shrinkage, multinucleation, abnormalities of mitochondrial cristae, membrane blebbing, disappearance of microvilli and filopodia, narrowing of lamellipodia, holes, formation of numerous smaller vacuoles, cytoplasmic extrusions and formation of apoptotic bodies as confirmed collectively by HDM, LM, SEM and TEM. In conclusion, PLME was able to produce distinctive morphological features of HeLa cell death that corresponds to apoptosis.

In situ morphological assessment of apoptosis induced by Phaleria macrocarpa (Boerl.) fruit ethyl acetate fraction (PMEAF) in MDA-MB-231 cells by microscopy observation

Phaleria macrocarpa (Boerl.) is a well-known medicinal plant and have been extensively used as traditional medicine for ages in treatment of various diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the in situ cytotoxicity effect P. macrocarpa fruit ethyl acetate fraction (PMEAF) by using various conventional and modern microscopy techniques. The cytotoxicity of PMEAF treated MDA-MB-231 cells was determined through the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay and CyQuant Cell Proliferation Assay after 24h of treatment. Both results were indicated that the PMEAF is a potential anticancer agent with the average IC₅₀ values of 18.10μg/mL by inhibiting the MDA-MB-231 cell proliferation. Various conventional and modern microscopy techniques such as light microscopy, holographic microscopy, transmission (TEM) and scanning (SEM) electron microscope were used for the observation of morphological changes in PMEAF treated MDA-MB-231cells for 24h. The characteristic of apoptotic cell death includes cell shrinkage, membrane blebs, chromatin condensation and the formation of apoptotic bodies were observed. PMEAF might be the best candidate for developing more potent anticancer drugs or chemo-preventive supplements.