TY - JOUR
T1 - Anti-proliferative and anti-cancer properties of Achyranthes aspera
T2 - Specific inhibitory activity against pancreatic cancer cells
AU - Subbarayan, Pochi R.
AU - Sarkar, Malancha
AU - Impellizzeri, Stefania
AU - Raymo, Francisco
AU - Lokeshwar, Balakrishna L.
AU - Kumar, Pradeep
AU - Agarwal, Ram P.
AU - Ardalan, Bach
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2010/8
Y1 - 2010/8
N2 - Aims of the study: Achyranthes aspera (Family: Amaranthacea) is a medicinal plant used as an anti-cancer agent in ayurveda, a traditional system of medicine practiced in subcontinental India. The aim of the study was to systematically investigate the anti-proliferative properties of Achyranthes aspera leaves extracted in methanol (LE) on human cancer cells in vitro. Materials and methods: We tested time, dose dependent and specific anti-proliferative activity of LE by clonogenic cell survival assay on human cancer and normal epithelial cell lines in vitro. We further investigated its effect on the expression of metastatic and angiogenic genes by real time polymerase chain reaction. On silica gel column, we carried out initial fractionation analysis. Results: LE exhibited time and dose dependent cytotoxicity on several tumor cells. Compared to cancer cells of colon, breast, lung and prostate origin, pancreatic cancer cells were significantly more sensitive to LE. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that LE selectively suppressed the transcription of metalloproteases (MMP-1 and -2), inhibitors of MMPs (TIMP-2) and angiogenic factors (VEGF-A and VEGF-B). Fractionation of LE on methanol equilibrated silica gel column resolved into three fractions of which fraction (F 3) was found to be enriched with anti-proliferative activity. Conclusion: Methanolic extract of Achyranthes aspera contains potent anti-proliferative compound with specific activity against pancreatic cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm the in vivo anti-tumorigenicity and subsequent chemical characterization of the active molecule(s).
AB - Aims of the study: Achyranthes aspera (Family: Amaranthacea) is a medicinal plant used as an anti-cancer agent in ayurveda, a traditional system of medicine practiced in subcontinental India. The aim of the study was to systematically investigate the anti-proliferative properties of Achyranthes aspera leaves extracted in methanol (LE) on human cancer cells in vitro. Materials and methods: We tested time, dose dependent and specific anti-proliferative activity of LE by clonogenic cell survival assay on human cancer and normal epithelial cell lines in vitro. We further investigated its effect on the expression of metastatic and angiogenic genes by real time polymerase chain reaction. On silica gel column, we carried out initial fractionation analysis. Results: LE exhibited time and dose dependent cytotoxicity on several tumor cells. Compared to cancer cells of colon, breast, lung and prostate origin, pancreatic cancer cells were significantly more sensitive to LE. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that LE selectively suppressed the transcription of metalloproteases (MMP-1 and -2), inhibitors of MMPs (TIMP-2) and angiogenic factors (VEGF-A and VEGF-B). Fractionation of LE on methanol equilibrated silica gel column resolved into three fractions of which fraction (F 3) was found to be enriched with anti-proliferative activity. Conclusion: Methanolic extract of Achyranthes aspera contains potent anti-proliferative compound with specific activity against pancreatic cancer. Further studies are needed to confirm the in vivo anti-tumorigenicity and subsequent chemical characterization of the active molecule(s).
KW - Anti-angiogenic agents
KW - Ayurvedic medicine
KW - Ethno botanicals
KW - Natural anti-tumor agents
KW - Real Time PCR
KW - Traditional medical system (TMS)
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jep.2010.06.002
DO - 10.1016/j.jep.2010.06.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 20541002
AN - SCOPUS:77955314701
SN - 0378-8741
VL - 131
SP - 78
EP - 82
JO - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
JF - Journal of Ethnopharmacology
IS - 1
ER -