In vitro anti-proliferative activity of Argemone gracilenta and identification of some active components

Abstract

BackgroundCancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Natural products have been regarded as important sources of potential chemotherapeutic agents. In this study, we evaluated the anti-proliferative activity of Argemone gracilenta’s methanol extract and its fractions. We identified those compounds of the most active fractions that displayed anti-proliferative activity.MethodsThe anti-proliferative activity on different cancerous cell lines (M12.C3F6, RAW 264.7, HeLa) was evaluated in vitro using the MTT colorimetric method. Identification of the active compounds present in the fractions with the highest activity was achieved by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses.ResultsBoth argemonine and berberine alkaloids, isolated from the ethyl acetate fraction, displayed high anti-proliferative activity with IC50 values of 2.8, 2.5, 12.1, and 2.7, 2.4, 79.5 μg/mL on M12.C3F6, RAW 264.7, and HeLa cancerous cell lines, respectively. No activity was shown on the normal L-929 cell line. From the hexane fraction, a mixture of fatty acids and fatty acid esters of 16 or more carbon atoms with anti-proliferative activity was identified, showing a range of IC50 values of 16.8-24.9, 34.1-35.4, and 67.6-91.8 μg/mL on M12.C3F6, RAW 264.7, and HeLa cancerous cell lines, respectively. On the normal L-929 cell line, this mixture showed a range of IC50 values of 85.1 to 100 μg/mL.ConclusionThis is the first study that relates argemonine, berberine, and a mixture of fatty acids and fatty acid esters with the anti-proliferative activity displayed by Argemone gracilenta.

Bioassay-directed isolation of quaternary benzylisoquinolines from Berberis integerrima with bactericidal activity against Brucella abortus

“…Compound 3 was a yellow powder with positive ESI Mass of 336 ( m/z ). Inspection of its NMR spectral data (experimental data) showed distinct similarity resonances with compound 2 except for the appearance of a methylendioxy (O-CH 2 -O) function at δ C 103.7 (δ H 6.11, 2H, s) and loss of two methoxy groups which was in agreement with berberine cation in the literature ( 18 ).…”

Prosopis juliflora (Sw.), DC induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in triple negative breast cancer cells: in vitro and in vivo investigations

“…PJLME treatment had a remarkable impact on reducing the size and weight of the 4T1 induced tumors in BALB/c mice when compared with untreated tumors. According to the United States National Cancer Institute (US-NCI) criteria for crude extract, it has been described that the extracts which shows an IC 50 values less than 100 μg/mL can be considered as an active sample, while the crude sample having IC 50 less than 30 μg/mL, can be considered promising sample for further purification of bioactive compounds [ 28 ]. As per the NCI guidelines, the PJLME can be considered as a promising extract as the IC 50 values calculated against MDA-MB-231 (IC 50 16.8 μg/mL) and MCF-7 (19.4 μg/mL) breast cancer cells are less than the limit (30 μg/mL) described by NCI.…”

High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HR-MAS) NMR-Based Fingerprints Determination in the Medicinal Plant Berberis laurina

“…Berberine ( 15 ), a main alkaloid compound, was identified based on several singlet signals in the high-frequency range of δ 9.67 (s, H-8) and δ 8.56 (s, H-13) [ 44 ]. Moreover, two individual doublets of equal J -coupling constants were observed in the δ 8.05 (d, 3 J H-H = 9.1 Hz, H-11), representing H-11, ortho -coupled to H-12, that appeared at δ 7.93 (d, 3 J H-H = 9.1 Hz, H-12) on the aromatic site in 15 .…”