Salinomycin is a monocarboxylic polyether ionophore isolated from Streptomyces albus. It has been widely used as an antibiotic in veterinary medicine in poultry. A recent study demonstrated that salinomycin selectively inhibits human breast cancer stem cells; one possible mechanism of tamoxifen resistance. Our results show that salinomycin is effective in inhibiting MCF-7/LCC2 and MCF-7/LCC9 cell lines which are well-established endocrine resistant cells and has a synergistic effect in combination with tamoxifen using MTT proliferation assay. The inhibitory effect of salinomycin on the reduction of critical ER co-activator; amplified breast 1 (AIB1) mRNA and protein expression is overcoming tamoxifen resistance. Moreover, salinomycin significantly inhibits cell invasion in Matrigel invasion assay. The effect was mediated at least in part by the decrease of matrix metalopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) which is one critical enzyme facilitated in the cell invasion process. In conclusion, salinomycin should be developed as a novel agent used alone or in combination for endocrine-resistant breast cancer.

Several biomaterial presented anticancer activities including volatile oil. Interestingly, the volatile oil from Amomum kravanh has been reported as anticancer activity. Nevertheless, the utilization in native oil might be barrier to apply its as anticancer agent because of the limitation of their water solubility. One of the solutions to this challenge is to use nanoemulsions as a carrier for delivery A.kravanh oil (AMO) into oral cancer cell. In this research, the phase inversion temperature method was used to prepared nanoemulsions containning AMO. The physical and anticancer property of various nanoemulsions were comparatively evaluated. The 8AMO:2Soybean oil (SBO) illustrated spherical and small oil droplet around 80 nm. It also presented good physical stability after temperature cycling test. Regarding anticancer property, the 8AMO:2SBO can considerably arrest oral cancer cells with dose dependent manner at IC50 of 0.76% v/v, and the nuclear fragmentation that was remarkable feature of apoptosis was also found in 8AMO:2SBO group. This discovery demonstrated that the AMO loaded nanoemulsions system can be consider to alternative choices for oral cancer prevention and treatment.

Liquid plaster (LP) is a recently developed wound dressing product that can be used to cover wounds in various parts of the body, especially small injuries or wounds in body parts involved in movement. Given the benefits and applications of LP, this study aimed to develop and evaluate Chromolaena odorata extract-loaded LP with antimicrobial and hemostasis effects. The study was first conducted through the extraction of Choromolaena odorata leaf by using an ethanol maceration technique and identification of the compounds with high-performance liquid chromatography. The LP loaded with Chromolaena odorata extract demonstrates an ability to inhibit S. aureus and S. epidermidis at a MIC of 0.25 mg/mL and MBC of 0.5 mg/mL. The antioxidant activity test was performed by ABTS and DPPH methods demonstrating the free-radical scavenging activity of the extract. The blood clotting activity was established by varying the concentration of Choromolaena odorata leaf extract from 0.0625 mg/mL to 1 mg/mL. The formulation of the film-forming system was developed by varying the solvent, polymer, and plasticizer proportions. The optimum formulation displayed fast film-forming with high elasticity of the film. Moreover, the 20 mg/mL herbal extract-loaded LP provided an antibacterial effect with admissible water vapor transmission and low skin irritation. As a result, the study demonstrates the possibility of introducing the Chromolaena odorata extract-loaded LP to increase the effectiveness of wound healing and the antibacterial effect on the skin.

Characteristics of programmed cell death are generally regarded as defined by cell outgrowth or cellular aging and distinct morphological characteristics featuring nuclear condensation and formation of apoptotic bodies. Apoptosis is considered to have a function at cellular level and is essential to long-lived cell differentiation undergoing senescence and apoptosis. Inappropriate apoptosis is a factor that results in serious conditions, causing multiple disease progression as well as cancer. The ability to modulate the life or death of a cancer cell is recognized for its immense therapeutic potential. Therefore, the research findings that are focused on the elucidation of a newly synthesized drug or drug derived from a natural plant to stop the cell cycle mechanism and signaling pathways that control cell cycle arrest and apoptosis are considered necessary. The field research of apoptosis is moving forward at a rapid rate. The goal of this paper is to investigate a natural active constituent, which is simply identified as “a drug for near future co-chemotherapy”, as well as to explore the ability to activate the apoptotic pathway. Our results demonstrated that cyclopamine provides an excellent anti-tumor activity and changing of the morphology of cancerous cells in the early and late phases of apoptosis, indicating that cyclopamine has the potential to chemosensitize SW-620 cancer cells to 5-FU based chemotherapy, which may be useful for the treatment of colorectal cancer and the fight to overcome drug resistance in advanced colorectal cancer.

Recently, essential oil from Amomum kravanh (AMO) was reported to exert anti-oral cancer effects. Although it was more effective after being loaded into nanoemulsions, AMO without an Ostwald ripening inhibitor was unable to form stable nanoemulsions because of the Ostwald ripening phenomenon. In this study, we examined the influence of Ostwald ripening inhibitors, such as fixed oils and polyethylene glycol 4000 (PEG 4000), on nanoemulsion properties prepared by a phase inversion temperature method. Several fixed oils, including virgin coconut oil (VCO), palm oil (PMO), olive oil (OLO), and PEG 4000, were evaluated, and their Ostwald ripening inhibitory effects were compared. The results suggest that the type and ratio of AMO:fixed oils influence the formation and characteristics of nanoemulsions. PEG 4000 was unable to produce nanoemulsions; however, stable nanoemulsions with small droplet sizes were observed in preparations containing OLO and VCO at an AMO:fixed oil ratio of 80:20, which may be the result of specific molecular interactions among the components. Using an MTT assay, we demonstrated that the AMO:OLO (80:20) nanoemulsion produced the most significant cytotoxic effect on oral cancer cells with a percentage of 99.68 ± 0.56%. Furthermore, the AMO:OLO 80:20 nanoemulsion inhibits metastasis and induces oral cancer cell death through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. In conclusion, AMO nanoemulsion with anti-oral cancer activity was successfully produced by varying the amount and type of fixed oils. In the future, this discovery may lead to the development of stable nanoemulsions employing additional volatile oils.