Annona muricata Leaf Extract Triggered Intrinsic Apoptotic Pathway to Attenuate Cancerous Features of Triple Negative Breast Cancer MDA-MB-231 Cells.

Annona muricata L., known as graviola, is an evergreen plant of the tropical regions and is a rich source of natural products. Graviola has various biological activities, and it is best known for its anticancer activity. This study aimed to investigate the effects of crude graviola extract in vitro on breast cancer cells; in particular, we aimed to identify an agent against triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). We used the TNBC MDA-MB-231 cell line as the experimental model and the ER(+) non-TNBC MCF-7 breast cancer cell line as the control. We identified annonaceous acetogenins, including annonacin isomers, characteristic to this plant by using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). We observed a significant decrease in the cell viability in both cell lines within 48 h, whereas impaired cell motility and invasiveness were observed only in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. While the MCF-7 cells showed an ER-dependent mechanism of apoptosis, the apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells was governed by an intrinsic apoptotic pathway triggered by graviola leaf extract (GLE).

Simultaneous separation of three isomeric sennosides from senna leaf (Cassia acutifolia) using counter-current chromatography.

Senna leaf is widely consumed as tea to treat constipation or to aid in weight loss. Sennoside A, A1 , and B are dirheinanthrone glucosides that are abundant and the bioactive constituents in the plant. They are isomers that refer to the (R*R*), (S*S*), and (R*S*) forms of protons on C-10 and C-10' centers and it is difficult to refine them individually due to their structural similarities. The new separation method using counter-current chromatography successfully purified sennoside A, A1 , and B from senna leaf (Cassia acutifolia) while reversed-phase medium-pressure liquid chromatography yielded sennoside A only. n-Butanol/isopropanol/water (5:1:6, v/v/v) was selected as the solvent system for counter-current chromatography operation, and the partition coefficients were carefully determined by adding different concentrations of formic acid. High-resolution mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy were performed to verify the chemical properties of the compounds.

Metabolite profiling and bioactivity of rice koji fermented by Aspergillus strains.

In this study, the metabolite profiles of three Aspergillus strains during rice koji fermentation were compared. In the partial least squares discriminant analysis-based gas chromatography-mass spectrometry data sets, the metabolite patterns of A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) were clearly distinguished from A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) and only marginal differences were observed for A. oryzae (KCCM 60551) fermentation. In the 2 days fermentation samples, the overall metabolite levels of A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) were similar to the A. oryzae (KCCM 60551) levels and lower than the A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) levels. In addition, we identified discriminators that were mainly contributing tyrosinase inhibition (kojic acid) and antioxidant activities (pyranonigrin A) in A. oryzae (KCCM 60345) and A. kawachii (KCCM 60552) inoculated rice koji, respectively. In this study, we demonstrated that the optimal inoculant Aspergillus strains and fermentation time for functional rice koji could be determined through a metabolomics approach with bioactivity correlations.

Screening and identification of antimicrobial compounds from Streptomyces bottropensis suppressing rice bacterial blight.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is the most devastating pathogen to Oryza sativa and has been shown to cause bacterial blight. Two bioactive compounds showing antimicrobial activities against Xoo strain KACC 10331 were isolated from a Streptomyces bottropensis strain. The ethyl acetate extract was fractionated on a Sephadex LH-20 column, and then purified by preparative HPLC. The purified compounds were identified as bottromycin A2 and dunaimycin D3S by HR/MS and 1H NMR analyses. The MIC value against Xoo and the lowest concentration still capable of suppressing rice bacterial blight were 2 microgram/ml and 16 microgram/ml for bottromycin A2, and 64 microgram/ml and 0.06 microgram/ml for dunaimycin D3S, respectively. These two compounds were shown to exert different bioactivities in vitro and in rice leaf explants.

GC-MS based metabolite profiling of rice Koji fermentation by various fungi.

In this study, Aspergillus kawachii, Aspergillus oryzae, and Rhizopus sp., were utilized for rice Koji fermentation, and the metabolites were analyzed in a time-dependent manner by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. On Principal Component Analysis, the metabolite patterns were clearly distinguished based on the fungi species. This approach revealed that the quantities of glucose, galactose, and glycerol gradually increased as a function of fermentation time in all trials rice Koji fermentation. The time-dependent changes of these metabolites showed significant increases in glucose in the A. oryzae-treated rice, and in glycerol and galactose in the A. kawachii-treated rice. In addition, glycolysis-related enzyme activities were correlated with the changes in these metabolites. The results indicate that time-dependent metabolite production has the potential to be a valuable tool in selecting inoculant fungi and the optimal fermentation time for rice koji.