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Many medicinal plants have been used to treat wounds. Here, we revealed the potential wound healing effects of Curcuma amarissima (CA). Our cell viability assay showed that CA extract increased the viability of HaCaT cells that were cultured in the absence of serum. This increase in cell viability was proved to be associated with the pharmacological activities of CA extract in inducing cell proliferation. To further define possible molecular mechanisms of action, we performed Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence study, and our data demonstrated that CA extract rapidly induced ERK1/2 and Akt activation. Consistently, CA extract accelerated cell migration, resulting in rapid healing of wounded human keratinocyte monolayer. Specifically, the CA-induced increase of cell monolayer wound healing was blocked by the MEK inhibitor (U0126) or the PI3K inhibitor (LY294002). Moreover, CA extract induced the expression of Mcl-1, which is an anti-apoptotic protein, supporting that CA extract enhances human keratinocyte survival. Taken together, our study provided convincing evidence that Curcuma amarissima can promote proliferation and survival of human keratinocyte through stimulating the MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling cascades. These promising data emphasize the possibility to develop this plant as a wound healing agent for the potential application in regenerative medicine.

A lectin was purified from the rhizomes of Curcuma amarissima Roscoe by aqueous extraction, fractionation with 80% saturated ammonium sulfate, and a combination of affinity and gel chromatography on ConA Sepharose and Superdex G-75, respectively. The molecular mass of the purified lectin was 32.4 kDa, as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The lectin showed no significant specificity in its ability to hemagglutinate erythrocytes from human blood groups (A, B, AB, and O), but for other animals, it only agglutinated rabbit and rat, and not mouse, guinea pig, goose, and sheep erythrocytes. The lectin was stable at temperatures below 40°C, but the hemagglutinating activity halved when it was heated to 45–85°C and was completely lost at 95°C. The hemagglutinating activity was more stable at 80°C than at 70°C and was rapidly inactivated at 90°C. It showed a maximum hemagglutination activity within the pH range of 8.0–11.0. The deduced amino acid sequence of an internal tryptic peptide sequence of this purified lectin showed sequence similarity (homology) to other members of the leucoagglutinating phytohemagglutinin precursor family, whilst the complete lectin inhibited the in vitro growth of three plant pathogenic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum, Exserohilum turicicum, and Colectrotrichum cassiicola, at a concentration of 17.5 to 35 µg, and showed in vitro cytotoxicity against the BT474 breast cancer cell line with an IC50 of approximately 21.2 μg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Like many plants in the family of Zingiberaceae, Curcuma amarissima has been traditionally used to induce healing and tissue regeneration. However, there is no scientific evidence to explain how Curcuma amarissima works to accelerate wound healing. Our data clearly proved that Curcuma amarissima extract could potentially accelerate the closure of scratch wounds of human keratinocytes by stimulating cell proliferation. The potential mechanisms underlying these effects were defined to be associated with the activated signal transduction pathways relevant to cell proliferation and survival. This strongly suggests the ability of Curcuma amarissima to enhance the process of keratinocyte reepithelization during wound healing. Our current study provides convincing evidence that supports the possibility to develop an effective wound-healing promoting agent from this plant. Many medicinal plants have been used to treat wounds. Here, we revealed the potential wound healing effects of Curcuma amarissima (CA). Our cell viability assay showed that CA extract increased the viability of HaCaT cells that were cultured in the absence of serum. This increase in cell viability was proved to be associated with the pharmacological activities of CA extract in inducing cell proliferation. To further define possible molecular mechanisms of action, we performed Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence study, and our data demonstrated that CA extract rapidly induced ERK1/2 and Akt activation. Consistently, CA extract accelerated cell migration, resulting in rapid healing of wounded human keratinocyte monolayer. Specifically, the CA-induced increase of cell monolayer wound healing was blocked by the MEK inhibitor (U0126) or the PI3K inhibitor (LY294002). Moreover, CA extract induced the expression of Mcl-1, which is an anti-apoptotic protein, supporting that CA extract enhances human keratinocyte survival. Taken together, our study provided convincing evidence that Curcuma amarissima can promote proliferation and survival of human keratinocyte through stimulating the MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling cascades. These promising data emphasize the possibility to develop this plant as a wound healing agent for the potential application in regenerative medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]