Anti-mitotic and anti-proliferation potentials of aqueous and methanolic extracts of fermented Citrullus vulgaris (ogiri-egusi) seeds

There is a growing scientific evidence of the health-enhancing benefits of fermented food and beverages, especially in cancer prevention and  treatment. Ogiri-egusi is an indigenously fermented condiment consumed in some West African countries, and prepared mainly from natural fermentation of melon (Citrullus vulgaris) seeds. The condiment has been previously reported to possess anti-oxidative and anti hyperlipid emic properties. In this study, different concentrations of ogiri-egusi extracts were exposed to actively dividing cells from Allium cepa meristematic roots and Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the antimitotic and antiproliferative investigations, respectively. There was a statistically significant reduction in mitotic activities of the treated A. cepa meristematic cells compared to the untreated cells. The mitotic index (MI) of the untreated cells was 28.38 ± 4.58. At a concentration of 1.0 mg/ml, the extracts induced a reduction in the MI to 6.02 ± 2.74 and 4.94 ± 0.61 in the aqueous and methanolic extracts- treated cells, respectively. Some chromosomal aberrations were also observed. In addition, proliferation in yeast cells was significantly inhibited at all the concentrations of the aqueous extract examined as well as at the highest concentration of the methanolic extract. These results provide useful insights to the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of fermented Citrullus vulgaris. Keywords: Fermented Citrullus vulgaris, Allium cepa, antiproliferation, cytotoxicity, genotoxicit

Investigation of the anti-cancer and apoptotic properties of aqueous extract from fermented African locust bean seeds

Some fermented foods are reported to possess anti-cancer properties. Fermented African locust bean seeds is a condiment prepared from fermentation of Parkia biglobosa. It has been reportedly functional for various medicinal activities but not anti-cancer. The cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing properties of the aqueous extract of the condiment were investigated in human cancer-hepatocellular (Hep-G2) and cervical (HeLa) and non-cancer cell lines. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and clonogenic cell survival assays. Apoptotic cell death and DNA fragmentation were also investigated. The results revealed cytotoxicity to both cell lines in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05) and selective activities between cancer and non-cancer cells. The IC50 values were 1.3 and 0.5 mg/mL for Hep-G2 and HeLa cells respectively. Furthermore, the extract induced apoptotic cell death in only Hep-G2 (73.03±0.73) cells