ANTICANCER ACTIVITY OF CAMELLIA SINENSIS MEDIATED COPPER NANOPARTICLES AGAINST HT-29, MCF-7 AND MOLT-4 HUMAN CANCER CELL LINES

Objective: With the advancement in nanotechnology, it is imperative to unearth its applications in medicine. Present investigation deals with the copper nanoparticles biosynthesizing capability of the leaves of medicinally important plant, Camellia sinensis.Methods: The phytosynthesized CuNPs were characterized by EDX, NTA, XRD, SEM, TEM and FTIR analysis. In the current study, we have made attempts to exploit the anticancer ability of the copper nanoparticles against HT-29 colon cancer, MCF 7 breast cancer and MOLT-4 leukemia cancer cell lines via SRB assay. We also carried out the synergistic activity with standard drug Adriamycin (ADR).Results: The synthesis of CuNPs was confirmed using EDX analysis where the presence of a strong optical absorption peak was observed at 1 keV, which is typical for the absorption of metallic copper nanoparticles. According to the results obtained, CuNPs showed good antiproliferative results in a dose dependant manner on HT-29 and MCF-7 cell lines, with 80 µg/ml concentration giving the best result. The synergistic effect of CuNPs+ADR was even better than that of CuNPs alone on all the cell lines. The synergism drug combinations showed highly responsive results on the leukemia cell line compared to individual drugs.Conclusion: Among all the treatments and cell lines studied, the most favorable and responsive antiproliferative impact was recorded for CuNPs+ADR combination treatment at 40µg/ml concentration on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line.Keywords: CuNPs, Camellia sinensis, Anticancer, Sulforhodamine B assay, HT-29, MCF-7, MOLT-4

ANTIPROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY OF ELEPHANTOPUS SCABER MEDIATED SILVER NANOPARTICLES AGAINST MCF-7, A-549, SCC-40, AND COLO-205 HUMAN CANCER CELL LINES

Objective: To unearth the applications of nanotechnology in medicine has become imperative with all the advancements in the technique. In the current study, we have attempted to exploit the anticancer ability of the green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Methods: The AgNPs were synthesized using 60% methanol (H-MeOH) Elephantopus scaber leaf extract, characterized, and discussed priorly. The effect of AgNPs was studied on the human breast (MCF-7), lung (A-549), oral (SCC-40), and colon (COLO-205) cancer cell lines through sulforhodamine B assay. We also carried out the synergistic activity with standard drug adriamycin (ADR). Results: According to the results obtained, AgNPs showed good antiproliferative activity with GI50 <10 μg/ml on MCF-7, A-549, and SCC-40 cell lines when compared with the standard drug ADR. However, for COLO-205 cell line, the impact was 17.4 μg/ml and thus the treatment was less effective. Conclusion: The synergistic effect of AgNPs+ADR was even better for all the four cell lines than that of the AgNPs alone

Elicitation of flavonoids by Salicylic acid and Penicillium expansum in Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees. cell culture

Salicylic acid and Penicillium expansum extract were used as chemical and fungalelicitors to enhance the synthesis of total flavonoid content in suspension culture ofAndrographis paniculata. Salicylic acid elicitor was added in 0.05mM, 0.5mM and 1.5mMconcentrations to the cell suspension of Andrographis paniculata and studied for 24, 48 and72 hrs. of treatment duration. Similarly, 0.3%, 0.6% and 1.2% of Penicillium expansum homogenate was treated with Andrographis paniculata suspension culture for 2 days, 5 daysand 8 days. All the elicitors administered at late exponential phase (25 days old culture).Ourfindings revealed that the salicylic acid treatment for 24 hrs with 0.05 mM concentration oftreatment duration showed 1.39 fold increment in total flavonoid content (1.72 mg/g) whereas Penicillium expansum elicitor (1.2%, 2 days) indicates 1.59 fold enhancement (2.38 mg/g) ascompared to control (1.49 mg/g). This concentration and incubation period was superior toother studied concentrations and incubation periods for P. expansum elicitor. Among all thestudied elicitors, Penicillium expansum (1.2%, 2 days) was found to be superior over Salicylicacid (0.05 mM, 24 hrs)

CHROMATOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS FOR DIOSGENIN†CONTENT IN ABUTILON INDICUM (L) SWEET

Objective: Chromatographic evaluation of steroidal saponin ‘diosgenin' from leaves of the medicinal plant by HPTLC.Methods: HPTLC analysis was performed with methanolic (MeOH) and ethanolic (EtOH) leaf extract of Abutilon indicum. HPTLC analysis was carried out with Toluene: ethyl acetate: formic acid [6:5:1, v/v/v] mobile phase and anisaldehyde-sulphuric acid reagent as spraying reagent for derivatization. Quantitative evaluation of diosgenin content in extracts was estimated using diosgenin standard curve (500-3000 ng/spot).Results: HPTLC plate scanned at 366 nm showed good resolution and band color after derivatization. The appearance of brown color spot on chromatograms confirmed the diosgenin content in samples and it was observed to be 0.4 and 0.11 % (w/w) in MeOH and EtOH extracts, respectively.Conclusions: A. indicum plant leaves are a good source of steroidal saponin diosgenin and can be used as an alternate natural source to synthesize herbal drugs to control human population, various tumor; oral contraceptives, sex hormones and other steroids. Further, the proposed HPTLC method is a faster, precise, accurate and cost effective, thus, help to the pharmaceutical companies for quantity, quality control and standardization of herbal formulations for routine analysis of diosgenin.Â

In vitro anti-platelet aggregation activity of the extracts of Camellia Sinensis

Anti-platelet therapy is now appearing as an advanced tool in the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. One of the oldest and best described drugs exhibiting anti-platelet activity is Aspirin, which is however associated with a large number of side-effects. Dietary supplementation with nutrients rich in antioxidants, like tea (Camellia sinensis), is associated with inhibition of atherogenic modifications to LDL and atherosclerosis. Epidemiological studies suggest that tea consumption is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular events. Platelet aggregation is a precipitating event in cardiovascular disease, and tea contains antioxidant polyphenols (like catechins) that are known to decrease platelet aggregation in vitro. In the present study, the effect of tea extract was analyzed on platelet aggregation in blood samples with the objective to study potency of phytoconstituents of C. sinensis as a platelet aggregation inhibitor. The study was conducted using Platelet Aggregometer (turbidimetric method developed by Born, 1962), in platelet rich plasma in response to ADP. Our observation revealed that when aspirin is considered as a positive control for platelet aggregation inhibition, the post dilution concentration of 6.25% exhibits 6% higher effect in inhibition of platelet aggregation as compared to aspirin. The analysis was done with 50%, 25%, 12.5% and 6.25% aqueous tea extract. It should be noted that aspirin is taken only after the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases whereas tea is consumed daily and has no side effects like aspirin. Hence, tea consumption on a daily basis can keep heart diseases at bay without causing any side effects which are common with commercial anti-atherogenic drugs

Elicitation, an Effective Strategy for the Biotechnological Production of Bioactive High-Added Value Compounds in Plant Cell Factories

Plant in vitro cultures represent an attractive and cost-effective alternative to classical approaches to plant secondary metabolite (PSM) production (the “Plant Cell Factory” concept). Among other advantages, they constitute the only sustainable and eco-friendly system to obtain complex chemical structures biosynthesized by rare or endangered plant species that resist domestication. For successful results, the biotechnological production of PSM requires an optimized system, for which elicitation has proved one of the most effective strategies. In plant cell cultures, an elicitor can be defined as a compound introduced in small concentrations to a living system to promote the biosynthesis of the target metabolite. Traditionally, elicitors have been classified in two types, abiotic or biotic, according to their chemical nature and exogenous or endogenous origin, and notably include yeast extract, methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, vanadyl sulphate and chitosan. In this review, we summarize the enhancing effects of elicitors on the production of high-added value plant compounds such as taxanes, ginsenosides, aryltetralin lignans and other types of polyphenols, focusing particularly on the use of a new generation of elicitors such as coronatine and cyclodextrins.Work in the Plant Physiology Laboratory (University of Barcelona) was financially supported by the Spanish MEC (BIO2014-51861-R) and the Generalitat de Catalunya (2014SGR215)