| Autor: |
Salam HS; College of Biotechnology, Misr University for Science and Technology, Giza 12563, Egypt., Tawfik MM; Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Port Said University, Port Said 42526, Egypt., Elnagar MR; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11823, Egypt.; Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, The Islamic University, Najaf 54001, Iraq., Mohammed HA; Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia.; Department of Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11823, Egypt., Zarka MA; Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), 6th October City, Giza 12563, Egypt.; Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, The Islamic University, Najaf 54001, Iraq., Awad NS; College of Biotechnology, Misr University for Science and Technology, Giza 12563, Egypt.; Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt. |
| Abstrakt: |
There is a huge demand for novel anticancer agents with fewer side effects compared to current therapies. Pitaya, or dragon fruit, is a reservoir of potent anticancer compounds. This research aimed to analyze the phytochemical components of Hylocereus undatus pulp and peel extracts using LC-MS and GC-MS, and to investigate the in vitro effects of both extracts against cancer (breast, MCF-7, and colon, Caco-2) and normal (lung; WI-38 and breast; MCF-10A) cell proliferation using the MTT assay. The apoptosis potential of the anticancer effects was also evaluated using flow cytometry, RT-PCR, and Western blot. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the peel extract were significantly higher than those in the pulp extract. Compared to the flavonoid and phenolic acid standards, the LC-MS analysis revealed the presence of nine compounds, which were represented as 84.32 and 5.29 µg/g of the flavonoids and 686.11 and 148.72 µg/g of the phenolic acids in the peel and pulp extracts, respectively. Among the identified compounds, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and rutin were found at the highest concentration in both plant extracts. Both extracts displayed cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 and Caco-2 cancer cells after 48 h of treatment at IC 50 values ranging from 14 to 53 μg/mL with high selective indices against normal WI-38 and MCF-10A cell lines. The increase in apoptosis was revealed by the overexpression of p53, BAX, and caspase-9 and the downregulation of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 mRNA and protein expressions. The results indicate that H. undatus extracts can be a plant source for cancer therapy. |
