In vitro culture studies of Sutherlandia frutescens on human tumor cell lines

Differential signaling involved in Sutherlandia frutescens-induced cell death in MCF-7 and MCF-12A cells

“…These findings are in concurrence with previous studies which have demonstrated the cytostatic and cytotoxic effects of S. frutescens in cervical carcinoma, CHO Chinese hamster ovary cancer cells, DU-145 prostate cancer cells and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (Chinkwo, 2005;Tai et al, 2004;Steenkamp and Gouws, 2006). In addition, this study yielded a novel finding demonstrating the induction of autophagy in the MCF-7 and MCF-12A cell lines using aqueous S. frutescens extracts.…”

“…frutescens extracts have shown promising antiproliferative activity in previous studies (Chinkwo, 2005;Stander et al, 2009;Tai et al, 2004), and significant inroads are being made into understanding the effects of these extracts on cell physiology and whole organism physiology, with data from in vitro studies augmented by experiments conducted in mice, rats and humans (Kundua et al, 2005;Prevoo et al, 2004;Chadwick et al, 2007;Grandi et al, 2005). Our study revealed that aqueous S. frutescens extracts affect the proliferation, morphology and cell cycle dynamics of both the MCF-7 breast adenocarcinoma and MCF-20 12A non carcinogenic breast epithelial cell lines to varying degrees in a time-and dose dependent manner.…”

“…The initial reagent concentrations and times of exposure to S. frutescens extracts were selected to correlate with previous literature and studies conducted in our laboratory (Vorster et al, 2010;Stander et al, 2007;Chinkwo, 2005;Tai et al, 2004). Cells were seeded at 5 000 cells per well in 96-well plates and incubated overnight at 37 o C in a humidified, 5% CO 2 environment to allow for attachment.…”

Spotlight on Ethnomedicine: Usability of Sutherlandia Frutescens in the Treatment of Diabetes

“…Medicinal preparations are generally produced from the leaves. Recently the elemental composition was analyzed in a study by Tai and coworkers using gas and liquid chromatography in combination with mass spectral profiling [3]. It was found that L-canavanine is one of the major ingredients of Sutherlandia.…”

“…The existence of these properties obtrudes the question of how this extract may be utilized in the treatment and management and eventually in the prevention of diabetes. The data on this question is still limited at present, but further studies have been conducted to reveal the active ingredients and its functions in the organism to explain why the plant has been used for generations to improve the health of people suffering from a spectrum of ailments [2][3][4]. Despite the lack of clinical studies in diabetes, this article aims to collect and evaluate the existing findings of Sutherlandia's possible contribution to the treatment of diabetes.…”