Search

This review analyzes the current progress in loaded nanoparticles (NPs) of plant extracts or isolated antineoplastic compounds used in breast and cervical cancer treatments. Also, it provides a comprehensive overview of the contributions made by traditional medicine and nanomedicine to the research of two of the most prevalent types of cancer in women worldwide: breast and cervical cancer. Searches were conducted in electronic databases to gather relevant information related to the biological activity of the NPs, which were meticulously reviewed. Nanomedicine has advanced to incorporate plant compounds including their crude extracts, in the preparation of NPs. The most used method is green synthesis, whose most outstanding advantages, is the reduced preparation time, and the variety of results that can be obtained depending on the reaction times, pH, temperature, and concentration of both the bio-reducing agent and the compound or plant extract. Most of the studies focus on evaluating crude extracts with high polarity, such as aqueous, alcoholic, and hydroalcoholic extracts. In conclusion, exploring the use of organic compounds is considered an area of opportunity for further research and future perspectives. Most of the analyzed studies were conducted using in vitro assays, highlighting the relatively recent nature of this field. It is expected that future research will involve more in vivo assays, particularly focusing on isolated cell lines representing the most difficult-to-treat types of cancer, such as triple-negative breast cancer like MDA-MB-231. Notably the MCF-7 cell line is one of the most used, while limited studies were found concerning cervical cancer., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Argemone mexicana L. has been used in traditional Mexican medicine. Among its bioactive constituents, berberine (BER) has garnered attention for its cytotoxic properties against different tumor cell lines. This study investigates the in vitro toxicity against HEP-G2 (human hepatocellular carcinoma) and murine lymphoma (L5178Y-R) cells using the MTT assay of the methanol extract (AmexM), sub-partitions of A. mexicana , and BER. Selectivity indices (SIs) were determined by comparing their cytotoxic effects on VERO (monkey kidney epithelial) and PBMC (human peripheral blood mononuclear) non-tumoral cells. Additionally, the anti-hemolytic effect of these treatments was assessed using the AAPH method. The treatment with the most promising activity against tumor cells and anti-hemolytic efficacy underwent further evaluation for toxicity in Artemia salina and antioxidant activities using DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays. BER demonstrated an IC 50 = 56.86 µg/mL in HEP-G2 cells and IC 50 < 5.0 µg/mL in L5178Y-R cells, with SI values of 15.97 and >5.40 in VERO and PBMC cells, respectively. No significant hemolytic effects were observed, although AmexM and BER exhibited the highest anti-hemolytic activity. BER also demonstrated superior antioxidant efficacy, with lower toxicity in A. salina nauplii compared to the control. Additionally, BER significantly attenuated nitric oxide production. This study highlights the antiproliferative effects of A. mexicana , particularly BER, against HEP-G2 and L5178Y-R tumor cell lines, along with its selectivity towards normal cells. Furthermore, its anti-hemolytic and antioxidant potentials were demonstrated, suggesting that BER is a promising candidate for potent chemotherapeutic agents.

Peroxisomicine A1 (PA1) is a toxin isolated from the Karwinskia genus plants whose target organs are the liver, kidney, and lung. In vitro studies demonstrated the induction of apoptosis by PA1 in cancer cell lines, and in vivo in the liver. Apoptosis has a wide range of morphological features such as cell shrinkage, plasma membrane blistering, loss of microvilli, cytoplasm, and chromatin condensation, internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, and formation of apoptotic bodies that are phagocytized by resident macrophages or nearby cells. Early stages of apoptosis can be detected by mitochondrial alterations. We investigated the presence of apoptosis in vivo at the morphological, ultrastructural, and biochemical levels in two target organs of PA1: kidney and lung. Sixty CD-1 mice were divided into three groups (n = 20): untreated control (ST), vehicle control (VH), and PA1 intoxicated group (2LD50). Five animals of each group were sacrificed at 4, 8, 12, and 24 h post-intoxication. Kidney and lung were examined by morphometry, histopathology, ultrastructural, and DNA fragmentation analysis. Pre-apoptotic mitochondrial alterations were present at 4 h. Apoptotic bodies were observed at 8 h and increased over time. TUNEL positive cells were detected as early as 4 h, and the DNA ladder pattern was observed at 12 h and 24 h. The liver showed the highest value of fragmented DNA, followed by the kidney and the lung. We demonstrated the induction of apoptosis by a toxic dose of PA1 in the kidney and lung in vivo . These results could be useful in understanding the mechanism of action of this compound at toxic doses in vivo ., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Urolithiasis is the presence of stones in the kidney, ureters, bladder and/or urethra; it is the third most frequent disease of the urinary tract. Mimosa malacophylla A. Gray, is a species distributed in northern Mexico, where people traditionally use it for its diuretic effect, and to treat kidney diseases; however, no scientific reports have been found in relation to its antiurolithic properties., Aim of the Study: This study aimed to obtain a qualitative phytochemical profile of the methanolic extract (ME) of M. malacophylla, and to evaluate its potential cytotoxic effect in vitro and its antiurolithic activity in vivo., Material and Methods: Phytochemical screening was performed to demonstrate the presence of secondary metabolite groups in the methanolic extract of M. malacophylla. In vitro cytotoxicity assays (MTT and nucleotide labeling with DAPI) were performed to evaluate the effect of the extract on kidney cell lines. Urolithiasis was induced in the bladder of Wistar rats introducing zinc disks for the calculus formation and exposed to three concentrations of ME., Results: Phytochemical screening showed phenols, steroids, terpenoids and carbohydrates. In vitro analysis demonstrated that concentrations below 300 μg/mL of ME did not produce a cytotoxic effect on renal Vero and HEK-293 cells. In vivo analysis of 15 days of exposition, revealed that the extract at concentrations of 50 mg/kg to 150 mg/kg were effective as an antiurolithic treatment, and did not produce morphological alterations in kidney or bladder in murine model of induced urolithiasis., Conclusions: The antiurolithic activity may be attributed to the presence of flavonoids, steroids and terpenes detected in the phytochemical screening which have been reported to possess this activity. These results could be useful to evaluate new alternatives and their potential therapeutic effect to treat renal or urinary affections., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Encephalitozoon cuniculi spores cause severe granulomatous inflammation in the brain where mononuclear cells and macrophages infiltrate. Here, we orally infected New Zealand white rabbits with 1 × 10 6 E. cuniculi viable spores to study the recruitment and localization of macrophages in brain granulomas. At day 30 post-infection, the positive phenotype markers iNOS (M1) and Arg-1 (M2) were located in the periphery and center of granulomas, respectively. Live intracytoplasmic spores were found only in positive Arg-1 cells. This is the first work to describe the recruitment and distribution of M1 and M2 macrophages in the brain granulomas of rabbits infected with E. cuniculi., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In accidental intoxicated animals and humans, Karwinskia humboldtiana (Kh) causes lesions in the central and peripheral nervous system and organs like the kidney, liver, and lung. The objective was to evaluate the histology of myocardium and skeletal muscle after experimental chronic intoxication with mature fruit of Kh in Wistar rat. Twenty-five rats were used and divided into five groups (n = 5): four intoxicated and one control. Kh fruit was ground, dried, sieved, and administered by an orogastric tube. Intoxicated rats received 3.5 g/kg body weight fractionated in 5 doses. Control rats received only water. Animals were euthanized at 24, 48, 58, and 112 days, respectively. Samples of the myocardium and skeletal muscle were obtained and processed for light microscopy evaluation. Morphological analyses were performed, including a microdensitometric analysis. Results showed areas of necrosis in the muscle fibers, fibers with vacuolated cytoplasm, and disorganization of myofilaments, as well as staining variations in both myocardium and skeletal muscle time-depending. Zones with loss of continuity of the external lamina were identified with PAS with the diastase histochemical method. Immunolabeling with specific antibodies demonstrated diminution of actin and desmin myofilaments. The microdensitometric analysis showed a statistically significant difference between the intoxicated vs control group. These findings demonstrate that chronic intoxication of Kh fruit also causes damage in myocardial and skeletal muscle, these alterations will be useful to understand that the toxic effects of Kh fruit in accidently intoxicated humans are systemic, and not only over the nervous system., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Acalypha monostachya (A. monostachya) is a plant that is used in traditional medicine as a cancer treatment; however, its effect has not been validated. In this study, the potential cytotoxic effects and morphological changes of A. monostachya were evaluated in human tumor cell lines. The aqueous (AE), methanolic (ME), and hexane (HE) extracts were obtained, and flavonoid-type phenolic compounds were detected, which indicates an antineoplastic effect. We observed a time-dependent and concentration-selective toxicity in human tumor cells. Additionally, the ME and HE showed the greatest cytotoxic effect at minimum concentrations compared to the AE, which showed this effect at the highest concentrations. All extracts induced significant morphological changes in tumor cells. The HeLa (cervix carcinoma) cells were more sensitive compared to the MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative breast cancer) cells. In conclusion, we demonstrated a cytotoxic in vitro effect of A. monostachya extracts in tumoral human cell lines. These results show the potential antineoplastic effects of A. monostachya in vitro. Hereafter, our lab team will continue working to usefully isolate and obtain the specific compounds of A. monostachya extracts with cytotoxic effects on tumor cells to find more alternatives for cancer treatment.

Background and Objectives: Nutritional deficiencies are one of the main triggers for the development of gastrointestinal diseases, such as ulcerative colitis (UC). Therefore, the objective of the present work consisted of determining the nutrients present in the bone broth (BB) and evaluating their anti-inflammatory properties in a murine model of UC, induced by intrarectal administration of 2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS), and acetic acid (AcOH). The BB was prepared from the femur of bovine cattle and cooked in distilled water for 8 h at 100 ± 2 °C. Materials and Methods: The BB was administered ad libitum to BALB/c mice for 10 days before the induction of UC. Colon samples were collected for histological analysis and determination of cytokine expression levels by qPCR. Results: It was found that amino acids (AA) are the main nutritional contribution of BB, 54.56% of these correspond to essential AA. The prophylactic administration of BB in the murine model of UC reduced histological damage, decreased the expression of IL-1β (61.12%), IL-6 (94.70%), and TNF-α (68.88%), and increased the expression of INF-γ (177.06%), IL-4 (541.36%), and IL-10 (531.97%). Conclusions: This study shows that BB has anti-inflammatory properties, and its consumption can decrease the symptoms of UC.