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Molecular biology reports
Mar, 2020;47 (3): 2073-2084.

Elaeocarpus reticulatus fruit extracts reduce viability and induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells in vitro.

Alexandria Turner, Danielle R Bond, Quan V Vuong, Anita Chalmers, Emma L Beckett, Judith Weidenhofer, Christopher J Scarlett
Author Information
  1. Alexandria Turner: School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2258, Australia. alexandria.turner@uon.edu.au. ORCID
  2. Danielle R Bond: School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2258, Australia.
  3. Quan V Vuong: School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2258, Australia.
  4. Anita Chalmers: School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2258, Australia.
  5. Emma L Beckett: School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2258, Australia.
  6. Judith Weidenhofer: Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, 2305, Australia.
  7. Christopher J Scarlett: School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2258, Australia.
PMID: 32065323 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-020-05307-8

Abstract

Treatment options for pancreatic cancer (PC) are severely limited due to late diagnosis, early metastasis and the inadequacy of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to combat the aggressive biology of the disease. In recent years, plant-derived bioactive compounds have emerged as a source of novel, anti-cancer agents. Used in traditional medicine worldwide, Elaeocarpus species have reported anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. This study aimed to isolate and identify potential anti-PC compounds in the fruit of Elaeocarpus reticulatus Sm. A 50% acetone crude extract significantly decreased the viability of four pancreatic cell lines (≥ 10 µg/mL for BxPC-3 cells) and induced apoptosis in BxPC-3 and HPDE cells. Analysis by HPLC identified the triterpenoid Cucurbitacin I as a likely component of the extract. Furthermore, treatment with Cucurbitacin I significantly reduced the viability of HPDE and BxPC-3 cells, with results comparable to the same concentration of gemcitabine. Interestingly, attempts to isolate bioactive compounds revealed that the crude extract was more effective at reducing PC-cell viability than the fractionated extracts. This study provides initial insight into the bioactive constituents of E. reticulatus fruits.

Keywords

Apoptosis Cucurbitacin I Elaeocarpus reticulatus Pancreatic cancer

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MeSH Term

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
Apoptosis
Cell Cycle
Cell Line, Tumor
Cell Survival
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Elaeocarpaceae
Fruit
Humans
Pancreatic Neoplasms
Plant Extracts
Triterpenes

Chemicals

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
Plant Extracts
Triterpenes
cucurbitacin I
Journal Article
Article has an altmetric score of 1

Word Cloud

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