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. 2014 Apr;10(Suppl 2):S232-9.
doi: 10.4103/0973-1296.133238.

Antiproliferative activity of Vallaris glabra Kuntze (Apocynaceae)

Siu Kuin Wong  1 , Yau Yan Lim  1 , Sui Kiong Ling  2 , Eric Wei Chiang Chan  3
Affiliations

Antiproliferative activity of Vallaris glabra Kuntze (Apocynaceae)

Siu Kuin Wong et al. Pharmacogn Mag. 2014 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Our earlier study on the antiproliferative (APF) activity of leaf extracts of ten Apocynaceae species showed that leaves of Vallaris glabra possessed strong and broad-spectrum properties.

Materials and methods: In this study, sequential extracts of leaves, flowers and stems, and fractions and isolated compounds from dichloromethane (DCM) leaf extract of V. glabra were assessed for APF activity using the sulphorhodamine B (SRB) assay. Apoptotic effect of MDA-MB-231 cancer cells treated with DCM leaf extract of V. glabra was studied using Hoechst 33342 dye and caspase colorimetry.

Results: Both DCM extracts of leaves and flowers possessed broad-spectrum APF activity against HT-29, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and SKOV-3 cancer cells. From DCM leaf extract, stearic acid (SA) and ursolic acid (UA) were isolated by column chromatography, and identified by NMR and MS analyses. APF activity of SA from DCM leaf extract displayed weak inhibitory activity and scientific literature showed UA has anticancer properties against those cancer cells used in this study. MDA-MB-231 cancer cells treated with DCM leaf extract and stained with Hoechst 33342 dye provided evidence that the extract had an apoptotic effect on the cells. Caspase colorimetry showed that the apoptotic effect involved activation of caspase-8, -9 and -3, but not caspase-6.

Conclusion: The potential of V. glabra as a candidate species for anticancer drugs warrants further investigation.

Keywords: Antiproliferative activity; Hoechst nuclear staining; Vallaris glabra; apoptosis; caspase colorimetry.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowers and leaves of Vallaris glabra
Figure 2
Figure 2
DCM leaf extract of Vallaris glabra at 12.5, 25.0 and 50.0 ìg/mL showed apoptotic effects on treated MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Figure 3
Figure 3
Graph of fold-increase in the activity of caspase-3, -6, -8 and 9 vs. concentration of DCM leaf extract of Vallaris glabra
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Wong SK, Lim YY, Abdullah NR, Nordin FJ. Assessment of anti-proliferative and antiplasmodial activities of five selected Apocynaceae species. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2011;11:3. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wong SK, Lim YY, Chan EWC. Botany, uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of selected Apocynaceae species: A review. Pharmacogn Commun. 2013;3:2–11.

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