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In the present study, the antiproliferative potential of various solvent extracts of Gracilaria edulis (GE) was tested against various cancer cell lines. In the A549 lung cancer cell line model, GE ethyl acetate extract (GEEA) (100 μg mL(-1)) treated group showed the maximum and significant (P < 0.05) growth inhibition at 48 h. The IC50 value was found to be 24.5 ± 19.1 μg mL(-1) at 48 h. Moreover, a low level of LDH release was observed at 48 h at various concentrations of (40, 60, 80 and 100 μg mL(-1)) GEEA extract-treated group compared to a control group. Changes in the cell morphology and echinoid spikes formation were observed at 48 h. Safety evaluation of GEEA in a non-cancerous liver cell line, PBMC and in Wistar rats positively revealed that the extract did not show any adverse toxic effects. The GEEA extract was partially purified by column chromatography and the active fraction was characterized through LC-MS analysis. Furthermore, HPLC and FT-IR analysis of the active fractions confirmed the presence of phytol, a diterpene compound with potent antiproliferative activity, which positively suggests that the red alga G. edulis contains a potent anticancer active principle.

In the present study, the modulatory effect of phytol against benzo (a)pyrene [B(a)P] induced lung carcinogenesis was investigated in Swiss albino mice. During the experimental period, phytol treatment showed no adverse toxic effect and mortality to the experimental animals. Lung tumor was observed in B(a)P treated group and also in animals post-treated with low concentration (50 mg/kg) of phytol. No neoplastic changes were observed in the lung tissue of the animals treated with the maximum dose of phytol (100 mg/kg). An elevated level of antioxidant enzymes combined with macromolecular damage (lipid peroxidation, protein carbonyl content) was observed upon B(a)P treatment whereas, phytol restored the level of antioxidant enzymes which were comparable to the vehicle control group. Moreover, administration of B(a)P induced apoptosis, as observed by the highest expression of Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9 proteins in lung tissue of B(a) P alone treated animals. However, phytol treatment reduced the expression of Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9 protein and maintained the constant expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. These observations positively reveal that phytol regulates the antioxidant enzymes and thereby protects the cells against B(a)P induced carcinogenesis without showing any adverse toxic effect to the animals. K E Y W O R D S antioxidant, apoptosis, benzo(a)pyrene, carcinogenesis, caspase-3, Phytol

The impact of oral microbial dysbiosis on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remains controversial. Building off recent studies reporting that various microbes might directly seed or promote amyloid β (Aβ) deposition, we evaluated the effects of periodontal bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola) and supragingival commensal (Streptococcus gordonii) oral bacterial infection in the APP-transgenic CRND8 (Tg) mice model of AD. We tracked bacterial colonization and dissemination, and monitored effects on gliosis and amyloid deposition. Chronic oral infection did not accelerate Aβ deposition in Tg mice but did induce alveolar bone resorption, IgG immune response, and an intracerebral astrogliosis (GFAP: glial fibrillary acidic protein). In contrast, intracerebral inoculation of live but not heat-killed P. gingivalis increased Aβ deposition and Iba-1 (ionized calcium-binding adaptor-1) microgliosis after 8 weeks of bacterial infection but not at 4 days. These data show that there may be differential effects of infectious microbes on glial activation and amyloid deposition depending on the species and route of inoculation, and thereby provide an important framework for future studies. Indeed, these studies demonstrate marked effects on amyloid β deposition only in a fairly non-physiologic setting where live bacteria is injected directly into the brain.