Antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities of Mentha x piperita L. essential oil in non-small cell lung cancer cells

Among 33 types of listed cancers worldwide, lung cancer with 2.2 million cases (12.2% of total cancer cases) ranks second next only to breast cancer. Globally, Turkey, with overall rate of 40.0 (41,264 cases), ranks 5th among top 10 countries in lung cancer. Currently used therapeutic agents and approaches have considerable side effects, and hence, there is a need for alternative agents for effective management of lung cancer. In this study, we explored the in vitro cytotoxic, antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities of Mentha x piperita L. (peppermint) essential oil in human non-small cell lung cancer (A549) cells. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay, morphological changes were determined by confocal microscopy and apoptosis promoting action was determined by flow cytometry technique. Peppermint essential oil found to effectively decrease the viability of non-small cell lung cancer cells and IC50 value was detected at low concentrations (2.12%) for 24 h. In addition, peppermint essential oil was found to alter the morphology of A549 cells, leading to changes that could describe programmed cell death. Apoptosis was the triggered cell death by Mentha x piperita essential oil. Results reveal that Mentha x piperita essential oil has antiproliferative and anticarcinogenic properties which could be attributed to the bioactive phytochemical contents and has the potential to be used as an anticancer agent and chemotherapeutic drug.

Nitrate reduction in Haloferax alexandrinus: the case of assimilatory nitrate reductase

Haloferax alexandrinus Strain TM JCM 10717T = IFO 16590T is an extreme halophilic archaeon able to produce significant amounts of canthaxanthin. Its genome sequence has been analysed in this work using bioinformatics tools available at Expasy in order to look for genes encoding nitrate reductase-like proteins: respiratory nitrate reductase (Nar) and/or assimilatory nitrate reductase (Nas). The ability of the cells to reduce nitrate under aerobic conditions was tested. The enzyme in charge of nitrate reduction under aerobic conditions (Nas) has been purified and characterised. It is a monomeric enzyme (72 ± 1.8 kDa) that requires high salt concentration for stability and activity. The optimum pH value for activity was 9.5. Effectiveness of different substrates, electron donors, cofactors and inhibitors was also reported. High nitrite concentrations were detected within the culture media during aerobic/microaerobic cells growth. The main conclusion from the results is that this haloarchaeon reduces nitrate aerobically thanks to Nas and may induce denitrification under anaerobic/microaerobic conditions using nitrate as electron acceptor. The study sheds light on the role played by haloarchaea in the biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen, paying special attention to nitrate reduction processes. Besides, it provides useful information for future attempts on microecological and biotechnological implications of haloarchaeal nitrate reductases.This work was funded by research grant from the MINECO Spain (CTM2013-43147-R) and by funds from the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Anadolu University (Turkey)

TİTANYUM DİOKSİTİN A549 HÜCRELERİ ÜZERİNDEKİ APOPTOTİK ETKİLERİ

Metal temelli bileşikler potansiyel etkilerinden ve az toksisiteye neden olduklarından dolayı uzun zamandır kullanılmaktadır. Metal bileşik sisplatin çeşitli kanser türlerine karşı tıbbi olarak kullanılmış ve yan etkiler göstermiştir. Biz bu çalışmada sisplatine alternatif ajan olarak düşündüğümüz titanyum dioksitin A549 hücreleri üzerindeki etkilerini ve apoptotik mekanizmasını araştırdık. Titanyum dioksitin 24, 48 ve 72 saatlik sürelerdeki zamana ve konsantrasyon aralığına bağlı olarak antiproliferatif etkilerini MTT canlılık analizini kullanarak belirledik. Titanyum dioksitin apoptozisi tetiklediğini saptadık. Titanyum dioksitin IC30 konsantrasyonu, 72 saat süresince A549 hücreleri üzerinde uygulandığında erken ve geç apoptozisi tetiklediği belirlendi. Titanyum dioksitin IC30 konsantrasyonu, 72 saat süresince A549 hücreleri üzerine uygulandığında mitokondriyal membran potansiyelini azaltarak apoptozisi tetikledi. Buna rağmen kaspaz-3 aktivitesi gözlenmedi. Titanyum dioksit kaspazdan bağımsız bir yol izleyerek apoptozisi tetiklemiştir diyebiliriz. Titanyum dioksitin IC30 konsantrasyonun 72 saatlik süre sonundaki hematoksilen ve eozin, TUNEL, BrdU, Bcl-2 ve Bax immünositokimyasal analizleri sonucunda  apoptotik indekslerinde artış belirlendi. Titanyum dioksitin IC30 konsantrasyonun uygulandığı A549 hücrelerinde 72 saatlik süre sonunda konfokal ve TEM mikrokobisi kullanılarak çeşitli apoptotik yapılar gözlendi. Bu sonuçlar titanyum dioksitin A549 hücreleri üzerinde antiproliferatif ve apoptotik etkilerini ve sisplatine eş potansiyel kemoterapötik bir ajan olabileceğini göstermektedir

A comparative study on the therapeutic effects of silymarin and silymarin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles on D-GaIN/TNF-?-induced liver damage in Balb/c Mice

Nanostructure mediated drug delivery is known to have a potential to improve drug bioavailability, apart from fostering release deviation of drug molecules and enabling precision drug targeting. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have drawn great deal of the attention of scientists in ?nding a solution to minimize pharmaceutic limitations of the drugs used. Silymarin(Sm)has so far been used for treating diverse liver and gall bladder disorders, such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, and jaundice, and for protecting the liver against poisoning from chemical and environmental toxins on account of its antihepatotoxic and antioxidative properties. The present study aims to develop a novel silymarin-loaded solid lipid nanoparticle (SmloadedSLN) system with enhanced bioavailability and with an ability to provide excellent hepatic protection for poorly water-soluble drugs. Based upon our investigation results with apoptotic markers, PCNA and light microscopic ?ndings, it can be concluded that Sm-loaded SLN signi?cantly reduced D-GaIN/TNF?-induced hepatotoxicity, which suggested improved bioactivity compared to Sm. In conclusion, Sm-loaded SLN could be a useful system for the delivery of poorly water-soluble Sm, apart from providing favourable hepatic protection

Antitumor efficacy of ceranib-2 with nano-formulation of PEG and rosin esters

Ceranib-2 is a recently discovered, poorly water-soluble potent ceramidase inhibitor, with the ability to suppress cancer cell proliferation and delay tumor growth. However, its poor water solubility and weak cellular bioavailability hinder its use as a therapeutic agent for cancer. PEGylated rosin esters are an excellent platform as a natural polymer for drug delivery applications, especially for controlling drug release due to their degradability, biocompatibility, capability to improve solubility, and pharmacokinetics of potent drugs. In this study, stable aqueous amphiphilic submicron-sized PEG400-rosin ester-ceranib-2 (PREC-2) particles, ranging between 100 and 350 nm in a 1:1 mixture, were successfully synthesized by solvent evaporation mediated by sonication. Conclusion: Stable aqueous PEGylated rosin ester nanocarriers might present a significant solution to improve solubility, pharmacokinetic, and bioavailability of ceranib-2, and hold promises for use as an anticancer adjacent drug after further investigations