Quantification of Flavonoids in Alpinia officinarum Hance. via HPLC and Evaluation of its Cytotoxicity on Human Prostate Carcinoma (LNCaP) and Breast Carcinoma (MCF-7) Cells.

BACKGROUND: Various plant species have been shown to be effective in the prevention or adjuvant therapy of cancer. Alpinia officinarum and its main phytochemicals have also been the subject of several studies for their anticancer properties. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to analyze the extracts of A. officinarum to quantify flavonoids and to evaluate the growth inhibitory effects of the extracts on MCF-7 and LNCaP cells. METHODS: A. officinarum aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts were analyzed by using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) for the quantification of three flavonoid compounds. Then, MCF-7, LNCaP, and fibroblast cells were treated with several concentrations (25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 µg/mL) of extracts (24, 48 and 72h). Cell viability was assessed using an MTT assay. Flow cytometry was conducted to evaluate apoptosis. RESULTS: Galangin and kaempferol (3.85 and 1.57 mg/g dry extract) were quantified, respectively, in hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts using a validated method. The hydroalcoholic extract significantly decreased the viability of MCF-7 (IC50: 43.45µg/mL for 48h) and LNCaP cells (IC50: 168 µg/mL for 48h). The aqueous extract reduced cancer cell viability by more than 50% only at 200 and 400 µg/mL (72 h). Treatment of primary fibroblasts with both extracts showed no significant decrease in cell viability (25-100 µg/mL; 24 and 48h). The hydroalcoholic extract induced a significant increase in apoptotic cells in both MCF-7 and LNCaP cells. CONCLUSION: Obtained results demonstrated the cytotoxicity of A. officinarum through apoptosis induction in two cancer cell lines. Further investigations are required to determine the underlying apoptotic cell death mechanisms induced by A. officinarum in cancerous cells.

Quercetin conjugated with silica nanoparticles inhibits tumor growth in MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines.

BACKGROUND: Quercetin is a plant polyphenol from the flavonoid group that plays a fundamental role in controlling homeostasis due to its potent antioxidant properties. However, quercetin has extremely low water solubility, which is a major challenge in drug absorption. METHOD: In this study, we described a simple method for the synthesis of quercetin nanoparticles. The quercetin nanoparticles had an average diameter of 82 nm and prominent yellow emission under UV irradiation. Therefore, we used an in vitro model treated with quercetin and quercetin nanoparticles to investigate the effects of quercetin nanoparticles on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. FINDING: MCF-7 cells were cultured with different concentrations (1-100 µM) of quercetin nanoparticles at the 24th, 48th and 72 nd hours, and cell cycle and apoptosis assays were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). In this study, we found that quercetin nanoparticles (1-100 µM) could significantly reduce cell vitality, growth rate and colony formation of MCF-7 cells. CONCLUSION: Quercetin nanoparticles can inhibit cell growth by blocking the cell cycle and promoting apoptosis in MCF-7 cells more than quercetin. As a result, quercetin nanoparticles may be useful therapy or prevention on breast cancer.

Association of TNF-α but not IL-1ß levels with the presence of Helicobacter pylori infection increased the risk of peptic ulcer development.

Peptic ulcer is a lesion in the mucosa of the digestive tract affecting many people all around the world. Recent investigations have indicated that produced inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1ß in response to gastric infection by Helicobacter pylori play an important role in the development of peptic ulcer. With regard to the significance of these cytokines in peptic ulcer development and the high prevalence of this disease in the developing countries, this study aimed to investigate the association of TNF-α and IL-1ß with peptic ulcer in the presence of H. pylori. This case-control study enrolled 61 patients with peptic ulcer disease (PUD) as cases and 59 people without peptic ulcer (NPUD) as controls. Blood samples and endoscopic biopsies were collected. H. pylori infection was confirmed by using rapid urease test (RUT), specific IgG measurement and histopathological examination. Then, IL-1ß and TNF-α levels were evaluated using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The seropositivity of H. pylori was 62.5% in the studied population, while by considering RUT and histopathological examination along with specific-IgG antibody, H. pylori infection decreased to 56.7%. In addition, H. pylori infection was significantly (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.17-0.82; P = .02) associated with peptic ulcer development. The TNF-α level in PUD and infected H. pylori subjects was significantly higher than that of control and un-infected H. pylori individuals. However, no significant difference of IL1ß level was observed between PUD and control groups as well as between H. pylori infected and un-infected individuals. Interestingly, IL-1ß level in PUD patients without H. pylori infection was significantly higher than infected ones. Moreover, a significant correlation between specific-IgG antibody with TNF-α level was observed. Taken together, our results showed that increased level of TNF-α could probably play pivotal role in pathogenesis of peptic ulcer in the presence of H. pylori infection. These findings also highlighted the importance of IL-1ß in the absence of H. pylori infection in peptic ulcer development.

The evaluation of radio-sensitivity of mung bean proteins aqueous extract on MCF-7, hela and fibroblast cell line.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women all over the world. Many of these women resist the common treatments. Therefore, it is important to find new products to increase the efficacy of the treatment process. Legume beans, with their various pharmacological properties, can be regarded as a sensitizer when they are combined with radiation. The present study strove to survey the radio-sensitivity effect of proteins isolated from mung bean aqueous extract on the human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7), human cervical cancer cells (Hela) and the human dermal fibroblast cell line. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mung bean aqueous extract was partially purified by ammonium sulfate. At first, various concentrations of the extracts were used to evaluate the inhibitory activity by MTT cell proliferation assay. RESULTS: The results showed that MCF-7 cells and Hela cells were inhibited by an IC50 value of less than 250 and 411 µg/ml, respectively, but it proved to have a proliferation effect on the fibroblast cells. Then, the cells were incubated with 250 µg/ml extract and exposed to 2, 4, and 6 Gy of X-ray radiation. The percentage of the cell survival was investigated through MTT and the clonogenic assay. Apoptosis was measured using acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining. The results demonstrated that the treated MCF-7 cells and Hela cells had significant radio-sensitivity compared with the results of the control group in radiation dose manner in all MTT, clonogenic, and apoptosis assays. In contrast, the treated fibroblast showed a protective effect against radiation. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that mung bean proteins have the capacity to be regarded as a radio-sensitizer for breast cancer. Our results also indicated that it could be worth to investigate on mung bean proteins further and they should be tested in animal models for being treated in radiotherapy.