Thymoquinone enhances the antioxidant and anticancer activity of Lebanese propolis

BACKGROUND Reactive oxygen species(ROS)are produced by multiple cellular processes and are maintained at optimal levels in normal cells by endogenous antioxidants.In recent years,the search for potential exogenous antioxidants from dietary sources has gained considerable attention to eliminate excess ROS that is associated with oxidative stress related diseases including cancer.Propolis,a resinous honeybee product,has been shown to have protective effects against oxidative stress and anticancer effects against several types of neoplasms.AIM To investigate the antioxidant and anticancer potential of Lebanese propolis when applied alone or in combination with the promising anticancer compound Thymoquinone(TQ)the main constituent of Nigella sativa essential oil.METHODS Crude extracts of Lebanese propolis collected from two locations,Rashaya and Akkar-Danniyeh,were prepared in methanol and the total phenolic content was determined by Folin–Ciocalteu method.The antioxidant activity was assessed by the ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH)free radical and to inhibit H2O2-induced oxidative hemolysis of human erythrocytes.The anticancer activity was evaluated by[3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide]MTT assay against HCT-116 human colorectal cancer cells and MDAMB-231 human breast cancer cells.RESULTS The total phenolic content of propolis extract from Rashaya and Akkar-Danniyeh were 56.81μg and 83.503μg of gallic acid equivalent/mg of propolis,respectively.Both natural agents exhibited strong antioxidant activities as evidenced by their ability to scavenge DPPH free radical and to protect erythrocytes against H2O2-induced hemolysis.They also dose-dependently decreased the viability of both cancer cell lines.The IC50 value of each of propolis extract from Rashaya and Akkar-Danniyeh or TQ was 22.3,61.7,40.44μg/mL for breast cancer cells at 72 h and 33.3,50.9,33.5μg/mL for colorectal cancer cells at the same time point,respectively.Importantly,the inhibitory effects of propolis on DPPH radicals and cancer cell viability were achieved at half its concentration when combined with TQ.CONCLUSION Our results indicate that Lebanese propolis extract has antioxidant and anticancer potential and its combination with TQ could possibly prevent ROS-mediated diseases.

Sulforaphene in Raphanus sativus L. var. caudatus Alef increased in late-bolting stage as well as anticancer activity

Objectives: To evaluate the concentration differences of sulforaphene and sulforaphane at various ages and in different parts of Raphanus sativus L. var. caudatus with respect to their potential cancer preventive effect on HCT116 colon cancer cells.Methods: FTIR–ATR and GC–MS were used to characterize the isothiocyanates in the plant extracts followed by HPLC for quantification. Antiproliferation and apoptosis induction were determined by using MTT assay and flow cytometry, respectively.Results: The respective rank of anticancer activity of Raphanus sativus were as follows:vegetative(3 week) < older rosette(4 week) < early-bolting(5 week) < senescence(7 week) < late-bolting(6 week). The low to high concentration of sulforaphene and sulforaphane occurred in the same stage order.Conclusions: The reproductive parts(flower, pod, and dry seed) of Raphanus sativus have the greatest isothiocyanate concentration, evidenced by a sulforaphene concentration higher than the sulforaphane. This result should inform the selection of the most appropriate harvesting stage and plant part for use as a potential chemopreventive agent.

Comparative Molecular Field Analysis(CoMFA) of Curcumin-related Compounds for Anticancer Activity

Three-dimensional （3D） quantitative structure-activity relationship （QSAR） studies of 44 curcumin-related compounds have been carried out based on our previously reported result for their anticancer activity against pancreas cancer Panc-I cells and colon cancer HT-29 cells. The established 3D-QSAR models from the comparative molecular field analysis （CoMFA） in training set showed not only significant statistical quality, but also satisfying predictive ability, with high correlation coefficient values （R12= 0.911, R22= 0.985） and cross-validation coefficient values （q2= 0.580, q22= 0.722）. Based on the CoMFA contour maps, some key structural factors responsible for anticancer activity of these series of compounds were revealed. The results provide some useful theoretical references for understanding the mechanism of action, designing new curcumin-related compounds with anticancer activity and predicting their activities prior to synthesis.

Anticancer activity of crude acetone and water extracts of Tulbaghia violacea on human oral cancer cells

Objective: To evaluate the anticancer activity of crude acetone and water leaf extracts of Tulbaghia violacea on a human oral cancer cell line(KB).Methods: The antioxidant activity of the leaf extracts was evaluated by using the DPPH assay while the anti-proliferative activity was assessed by using the MTT assay.The morphological characteristics of apoptotic cells were examined by using the dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining.Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the induction of multi-caspase activity and changes in the cell cycle.Results: The acetone and water extracts exhibited antioxidant activity in a concentration dependent manner.The extracts inhibited the growth of the KB cell line with IC_(50) values of 0.2 mg/mL and 1 mg/mL, respectively for acetone and water.Morphological changes such as cell shrinkage, rounding and formation of membrane blebs were observed in the treated cells.In acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining, the number of apoptotic cells increased as the concentration of the extracts increased.The activation of multi-caspase activity in KB cells treated with Tulbaghia violacea extracts was concentration dependent, leading to cell death by apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G_2/M phase.Conclusions: The acetone and water extracts of Tulbaghia violacea appear to have anti-cancer activity against human oral cancer cells and need to be investigated further.

Potential anticancer activity analysis of piscidin 5-like from Larimichthys crocea

Antitumor activity is one characteristic function of some certain antimicrobial peptides(AMPs)found in recent years.In the present study,we attempted to detect potential anticancer activity of a recombinant piscidin 5-like from Larimichthys crocea(r Lc-P5L)which owned widely antibacterial and strong antiparasitic activity in vitro.The light microscope observation indicated r Lc-P5L was of antitumor activity to He La cells,293 T cells and L929 cells.MTT assay showed the toxic sensitivity of r Lc-P5L to three tumor cell strains was 293 T>L929>He La.Scanning electron microscope(SEM)results showed r Lc-P5L behaved like a lytic peptide to cause damage on cells membrane of L929 cells by forming globular clusters,even pores at 60μmol/L,or degrading membrane to make it completely lose cytoskeleton structure at 80μmol/L;r Lc-P5L treatment also resulted in DNA degradation.Fluorescence observation results indicated r Lc-P5L could cause L929 cells at least two obvious changes:one is nucleus,nuclear chromatin condensed in the margin,nuclear volume became smaller and shrank to be out of shape,or lysed to be debris;the other is cytoskeleton,they became disordered and polarized to make cells atrophic shapes,or even lysed to be debris.In summary,r Lc-P5L owned potential anticancer activity causing membrane structure damage and genome DNA degradation.Interestingly,treatment with different concentration of r Lc-P5L seemingly caused the similar but different changes,whether it indeed gave rise to cancer cells diverse death way,the further studies should be performed,and the detailed mechanisms were still need further explored.

Thymoquinone anticancer activity is enhanced when combined with royal jelly in human breast cancer

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the most common cause of the majority of cancer-related deaths in women,among which triple-negative breast cancer is the most aggressive type of breast cancer diagnosed with limited treatment options.Thymoquinone(TQ),the main bioactive constituent of Nigella sativa,has been extensively studied as a potent anticancer molecule against various types of cancers.Honeybee products such as the royal jelly(RJ),the nutritive secretion fed to honeybee queens,exhibit a variety of biological activities besides its anticancer effect.However,the anticancer activity of the combination of TQ and RJ against breast cancer is still unknown.AIM To investigate cytotoxicity of RJ in FHs 74 Int cells and the anticancer effects of TQ,RJ,and their combinations in the MDA-MB-231 cell line.METHODS Cells were treated with TQ,RJ,and their combinations for 24 h.Using 3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay,we determined the half-maximal inhibitory concentration of TQ.Trypan blue and 3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays were then performed to assess the cell viability in response to different treatment conditions.Cell death and cycle regulation were investigated using propidium iodide deoxyribonucleic acid staining followed by flow cytometry in response to a single dose of TQ,RJ,and their combination.Immunostaining for cleaved caspase 3 and Ki67 expression was used to determine apoptosis induction and changes in cell proliferation.RESULTS TQ alone inhibited cell viability in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations below and above the half-maximal inhibitory concentration.RJ exhibited relatively nontoxic effects against MDA-MB-231 cells and FHs 74 Int small intestinal cells at concentrations below 5μg/mL.High doses of RJ(200μg/mL)had greater toxicity against MDA-MB-231 cells.Interestingly,the inhibition of cell viability was most pronounced in response to 15μmol/L TQ and 5μg/mL RJ.A dose of 15μmol/L TQ caused a significant increase in the PreG1 population,while a more pronounced effect on cell viability inhibition and PreG1 increase was observed in response to TQ and RJ combinations.TQ was the main inducer of caspase 3-dependent apoptosis when applied alone and in combination with RJ.In contrast,no significant regulation of Ki67 expression was observed,indicating that the decrease in cell viability was due to apoptosis induction rather than to inhibition of cell proliferation.CONCLUSION This study is the first to report enhanced anticancer effects of TQ and RJ combination against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells,which could confer an advantage for cancer therapy.

PROGRESS OF RESEARCH IN THE PREPARATION OF CHINESE TRADITIONAL AND HERBAL DRUGS WITH ANTICANCER ACTIVITY

Research into anticancer substances madefrom Chinese herbal drugs and their clinicalapplication is gaining international attention bythe medical profession of the more than 20analogues of camptothecine isolated from Camp-totheca tree in China, most exhibited anticanceractivity. Among them, 10-hydroxycamptothe-cine has a wide anticancer spectrum and is lesstoxic. In suspension, it exhibits some therapeu-tic effects on primary hepatic cancer, gastriccarcinoma, cancer of the urinary bladder andleukemia.

Antitumor Activity and Theoretical Calculation of Evodiamine and Rutaecarpine

The antitumor activities of two alkaloids, evodiamine（EVO） and rutaecarpine（RUT）, against MCF-7, SMMC-7721 and SW-1353 cells growth in vitro were investigated by MTT assay. The results showed that the anti-tumor effects of two alkaloids were remarkably different. In order to discover the relationship of antitumor activity and structures of the compounds, the dihedral angle, Natural Electron Configuration, frontier molecular orbital profiles（HOMO, LUMO）and bandgaps of these two compounds have been studied based on density functional theory（DFT）by means of DFT-B3LYP/6-31G（d） in Gaussian 03. The calculation results of dihedral angle showed that EVO, due to the existence of methyl group attached to the N（14） atom, have non-planar and twisted structures, which decrease the stability of EVO and increase the activity of EVO. Furthermore, the bandgaps of RUT are lower than that of EVO, indicating RUT has higher stability than EVO, so the activity of EVO is higher than that of RUT. In addition, the negative charge of N14 atom in EVO is lower than that of in RUT, so the positive charge of N（14） atom in EVO is higher than that of in RUT, which suggests that the nucleophile is easier to aggress the N（14） atom in EVO than that in RUT, so the reason of the different antitumor activities of EVO and RUT may be attacked by nucleophile.

Potato protease inhibitors,a functional food material with antioxidant and anticancer potential

Potato protease inhibitors(PPIs),as the main component of potato protein isolate,have good safety,nutrition and great market potential.The antioxidant and anticancer properties of PPIs were evaluated with cellbased biological assays.The results showed that when the concentration of PPIs was 5 mg/mL,the peroxyl radical scavenging value was(2119±204)mg VCE/100 g,and the cellular antioxidant activity values were(45.83±3.5)(no PBS wash)and(33.25±4.4)μmol QE/100 g(PBS wash).Cells pretreated with PPIs could significantly prevent the oxidative damage induced by H_(2)O_(2),inhibit the morphological changes of cells and maintain the integrity.Furthermore,PPIs had selective anti-proliferative effects on GIST882 cells(IC50=(10.53±3.87)mg/mL)and demonstrated potent inhibition of the growth,migration and invasion of cancer cells.These findings provide a scientific basis for PPIs as promising candidates for functional foods to aid in the prevention of oxidative damage and cancer.

The Combination of Artesunate and Paclitaxel in 1:1 Ratio Induces Apoptosis and Morphology Change on Human Prostate Cancer Cell Lines

The combination of Artesunate (ART) and Paclitaxel (PTX) in two human prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines (PC-3 and LNCaP) was evaluated to investigate the effects on proliferation, apoptosis and morphological changes. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values that were observed by ART and PTX on both LNCaP and PC-3 cell lines at 72-and 120-hour exposure were used to assess these effects. Early and late apoptosis was detected in Annexin V-FITC/PI assay revealed a shift in population of cells towards early and mid-apoptosis with ART + PTX than with ART and PTX individually. More effects were observed on LNCaP cell lines at both 72-hour and 120-hour exposure. The results for the Caspase 3/7 activity assay showed shift of viable population in all induced samples compared to control. Morphological changes occurred in both cell lines;this was validated in qualitative assessment when examined under the inverted microscope. These findings indicated that ART + PTX suppressed PCa cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner.

The Anticancer Activities Phenolic Amides from the Stem of Lycium barbarum

Four new phenolic amides,4-O-methylgrossamide(1),(E)-2-(4,5-dihydroxy-2-{3-[(4-hydrox-yphenethyl)amino]-3-oxopropyl}-phenyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-N-(4-hydroxyphenethyl)acryl-amide(2),(Z)-lyciumamide C(3),(Z)-thoreliamide B(4),together with thirteen known phenolic amides were identified from the stem of Lycium barbarum.The structures of the new compounds were determined by spectroscopic methods.All compounds were evaluated for their anti-cancer activities against human glioma stem cell lines.

Synthesis,Crystal Structure and Properties of A Triphenyltin Schiff Complex with Salicylidene-2-aminophenol

The triphenyltin complex with salicylidene-2-aminophenol （C31H24NO2Sn, 1） has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The complex crystallizes in monoclinic system, P21/c space group with a = 1.09515（8）, b = 1.17739（8）, c = 2.29075（14） nm, β = 117.070（4）°, V = 2.6302（3） nm3, Z = 4, Dc = 1.417 g/cm3, ？ = 0.999 mm–1, F（000） = 1123, R = 0.0472 and wR = 0.1169. X-ray single-crystal diffraction showed that 1 demonstrates a one-dimensional chain structure. The quantum chemical calculation of 1 has been investigated. Complex 1 emits fluo- rescence at 558 nm and exhibits certain inhibitory activity against NCI-H460, A549 and MCF-7.

Synthesis,Structure and Biological Activities of a Novel Anionic Organotin(Ⅳ)Complex{[(pClC6H4CH2)Sn(H2O)(Cl)2OCOCH(O)CH(O)CO2Sn(H2O)(Cl)2(p-ClC6H4CH2)]·2(HNEt3)}

A novel anionic organotin(Ⅳ) complex {[(pClCHCH)Sn(HO)(Cl)OCOCH(O)CH(O)COSn(HO)(Cl)(p-ClCHCH)]·2(HNEt)}(1) was synthesized by the reaction of di(p-chlorobenzy)tin dichloride with the D-tartaric acid in 2:1 molar in the presence of an organic base triethylamine. The structure was characterized by elemental analysis, IR, TG, XRD and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. It crystallizes in triclinic, P1 space group, with a = 0.7067(1), b = 1.9762(3), c = 2.2383(3) nm, α = 91.544(2)°, β = 90.075(2)°, γ = 90.110(2)°, V = 3.1247(7) nm~3, Z = 3, Dc = 1.621 g/cm~3, m(Mo Kα) = 16.29 cm–1, F(000) = 1530, R = 0.0394, wR = 0.1092,(Δρ)max = 1224 and(Δρ)min = –840 e/nm~3. The stabilities, orbital energies and composition characteristics of some frontier molecular orbitals of 1 have been carefully investigated with quantum chemistry calculation. In addition, the in vitro antitumor activity suggested that 1 had stronger inhibitory activity on H460, MCF7 than on A549.

Novel therapeutic diiminoquinone exhibits anticancer effects on human colorectal cancer cells in two-dimensional and threedimensional in vitro models

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer(CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality.Cancer stem cells(CSCs) in CRC, which are spared by many chemotherapeutics,have tumorigenic capacity and are believed to be the reason behind cancer relapse. So far, there have been no effective drugs to target colon CSCs. Diiminoquinone(DIQ) has shown promising effects on targeting colon cancer.However, there is limited research on the effects of DIQ on eradicating CSCs in CRC.AIM To investigate the anticancer potential of DIQ on colon CSCs in two-dimensional(2D) and three-dimensional(3D) models using colonospheres and patient-derived organoids.METHODS Various 2D methods have been used to assess the effect and the mechanism of DIQ on HCT116and HT29 cell lines including cell proliferation and viability assays, migration and invasion assays,immunofluorescence staining, and flow cytometry. The potency of DIQ was also assessed in 3D culture using the sphere formation assay and colon cancer patient-derived organoid model.RESULTS Our results showed that DIQ significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in HCT116 and HT29 cell lines. DIQ treatment induced apoptosis along with an accumulation of HCT116 and HT29 cancer cells in the sub-G1 region and an increase in reactive oxygen species in both CRC cell lines. DIQ reduced sphere-forming and self-renewal ability of colon cancer HCT116and HT29 stem/progenitor cells at sub-toxic doses of 1 μmol/L. Mechanistically, DIQ targets CSCs by downregulating the main components of stem cell-related-catenin, AKT, and ERK oncogenic signaling pathways. Potently, DIQ displayed a highly significant decrease in both the count and the size of the organoids derived from colon cancer patients as compared to control and 5-fluorouracil conditions.CONCLUSION This study is the first documentation of the molecular mechanism of the novel anticancer therapeutic DIQ via targeting CSC, a promising compound that needs further investigation.

Crystal Structures,Thermal Behaviors and Biological Activities of Acylhydrazone Compounds Containing Pyrazine Rings and Halogen Atoms

Three new kinds of acylhydrazone compounds （C12H10FN5O？H2O, 1; C12H10ClN5O？2CH3COOH, 2; C12H10BrN5O, 3） were synthesized by the reaction of 2-amino-3- pyrazinecarbohydrazide （C5H7N5O） with halogenated benzaldehyde （C7H5OX, X = F, Cl, Br）. The structures of the three compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, 1H NMR, IR and X-ray diffraction. X-ray single-crystal diffraction presents that the three compounds all belong to triclinic system, P space group. Thermal gravity analyses show that three compounds have excellent thermal stabilities and all the thermal decomposition temperature of maximum weight loss was around 300 °C. The interactions of the compounds with CT-DNA were investigated by UV-Vis spectrum, fluorescence spectrum and viscosity measurement. All the results suggest that three compounds could bind with CT-DNA through intercalation. The fluorescence spectrum was also used to study the interactions of three compounds with BSA. It was proved that all the compounds could quench the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA via a static quenching process. Compound 2 displays the strongest binding ability both in the reaction with CT-DNA or BSA. Antimicrobial test was carried on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella, and 2 is more effective against S. aureus. But in MTT assay, 1 shows better cytotoxity activity against A549 cells.

Design and Synthesis of 3-Substituedmethylenethiochroman-4-ones as Anticancer Agents

A series of 3-substituedmethylenethiochroman-4-ones was designed and synthesized, and their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, IR, UV and elemental analysis. The results of their anticancer activity studies show that almost all 3-chloromethylenethiochroman-4-ones exhibit high anticancer activities and their activities are all better than reference cisplatin. Their IC50 against cancer cells is in a range of 0.80―9.17 μg/mL. Thus they could be promising candidates for anticancer drugs. However, compound 5 has no activity against cancer cells, thus chloromethylene at the 3 position of thiochroman-4-ones seems to play an important role in observed anticancer activities.

Evaluation of antiparasitic,anticancer,antimicrobial and hypoglycemic properties of organic extracts from Panamanian mangrove plants

Objective: To investigate 33 organic extracts of mangrove plants for: antiparasitic, anticancer, and antibacterial activities, as well as their ability to inhibit the activity of the α-glucosidase enzyme. Methods: Leaves from all different plant mangrove species located in five mangrove zones of the Pacific coast of Panama were collected according to standard procedures. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of the organic extracts was performed by thin layer chromatography. The antiparasitic activity against Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania donovani, toxicity against Artemia salina, anticancer activity in MCF-7 cell line, and antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa of all organic extract were investigated according protocols stablished in our institution. Finally, the ability to inhibit the enzymatic activity of α-glucosidase was evaluated by monitoring the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl α-Dglucopyranoside. Results: Thirty-three different samples belonging to nine different species of vascular plants with seeds of true mangroves were collected. Triterpenoids, phenolics, and tannins were the main groups of compounds found in the sampled mangroves. Saponins, quinones, and coumarins were found in less than 50%of the samples. Laguncularia racemosa showed moderate activity against Plasmodium falciparum. None of the extracts presented anticancer activity. Rhizophora mangle exhibited potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis [(90.41 ±7.33)% and(96.02±6.14)% of inhibition]; Avicennia germinans and Conocarpus erectus had activity against Escherichia coli[(71.17±6.15)% and(60.60±5. 13)% of inhibition,respectively]. About 60% of the mangroves showed α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. In particular, extracts from Laguncularia racemosa, Pelliciera rhizophorae, Conocarpus erectus, Mora oleifera, and Tabebuia palustris species showed α-glucosidase inhibitory potential, with IC_(50) values of(29.45±0.29),(20.60±0.70),(730.06±3.74),(25.59±0.37), and(853.39±5.30) μg/mL, respectively. Conclusions: Panamanian mangroves are mainly a promising potential source of hypoglycemic compounds, specifically α-glucosidase inhibitors.These results highlight the therapeutic virtues of extracts from American mangrove plants.

The synthesis of boronic-imine structured compounds and identification of their anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities

Boronic acid compounds with different substituted groups were handled to synthesize various ligands encoded as B1, B2, B3, B4, BS, B6, B7 and BS. B5 and B7 were tested for the cytotoxic activity against the prostate cancer cells and it was found that the cell viability of cancer cells was decreased while most of the healthy cells could still be viable. 5 μM solutions of B5 and B7 decreased the cell viability to 33% and 44%; whereas healthy cells were 71% and 95%, respectively, after treatment. Antimicrobial properties were explored against the bacterial and fungal microorganisms with B1, B5 and BZ The inhibition zones were evaluated for all boronic structures, and the growth inhibition zones were determined in a range of 7-13 mm diameter for different microorganism species. Staphylococcus aureus was the common micro- organism that three boronic compounds with imine ligands showed the activity. Antioxidant features of B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7 and B8 were investigated by different processes such as Beta-carotene bleaching （BCB）, 2,2-diphenyl picryl hydrazyl （DPPH）, 2,2″-azino-bis（ 3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid） （ABTS） and CUPric reducing antioxidant capacity （CLIPRAC） methods. Significant antioxidant activity was achieved by the phenyl boronic based ligands and these compounds demonstrated as much activity as standards （α-Toc and BHT）. In addition, all structures were applied properly without any decomposition during the experiments. They were rather stable both in aqueous media and solid state.