Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) as a tool for helping with Cancer (anticancer research)

Capilliposides (CPSs) are oleanane-type triterpene saponins derived from Lysimachia capillipes , a traditional Chinese herb widely utilised for treating inflammatory illnesses, cancer, and arthritis disorders. CPSs have been reported to exhibit anticancer activity against different cancers, including lung, prostate, ovarian, colorectal, nasopharyngeal, and breast cancers. Mechanistically, CPSs have been suggested to induce apoptosis via regulating oxidative stress and mitochondrial pathways, as well as inhibiting angiogenesis and metastasis, promoting cell cycle arrest, and interfering with PI3K/Akt/mTOR, MAPK, and JAK/STAT3 signalling cascades. Additionally, CPSs have demonstrated anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective properties; they lowered oxidative stress, relieved experimental colitis, preserved intestinal barrier integrity, and regulated gut microbiota. This review discussed the reported data on the separation, chemistry, pharmacokinetics, and biological activities of CPSs. Although CPSs represent prominent multi-target natural triterpenes, current findings are largely preclinical and require further interpretation. Future research and clinical trials are recommended to confirm their safety and therapeutic potential.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and metastasis is the leading cause of death in breast cancer patients. Although chemoprevention is widely employed to treat breast cancer, anticancer drugs can cause significant adverse effects. Lysimachia christinae Hance (LH) is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant with diverse therapeutic effects. However, its potential anticancer activity has not been fully investigated in breast cancers to date. Using high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we found that the main constituent of LH extract (LHE) was rutin. Our results indicated that LHE or rutin markedly decreased the proliferation and viability of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive MCF-7 and ER-negative HCC38 human breast cancer cells. LHE treatment induced morphological changes in apoptotic nuclei using 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining. Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) propidium iodide (PI) staining assay revealed that apoptosis significantly increased in both breast cancer cell types after LHE treatment. Additionally, the expression of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), Bcl-2, and phospho-Akt decreased, while that of cleaved PARP and p53 increased, in both cell types. Furthermore, LHE treatment inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). LHE treatment significantly upregulated E-cadherin level in MCF-7 and HCC38 cells, while vimentin level was downregulated in HCC38 cells. In addition, transwell and wound-healing assays revealed that LHE or rutin inhibited breast cancer cell migration. Overall, these findings demonstrate that LHE is a promising therapeutic agent that acts by promoting apoptosis and reducing cell proliferation, EMT, and cell migration in ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancer cells.

Background Lysimachia vulgaris L. (Yellow loosestrife) is a medicinal plant in the family Myrsinaceae. It has been used in the treatment of fever, ulcer, diarrhea and wounds in folk medicine. It has also analgesic, expectorant, astringent and anti-inflammatory activities. Two different sources of the plant (field-grown and in vitro -grown) were used to evaluate the biological activities (antibacterial, antitumor and antioxidant) of L. vulgaris. In vitro-grown plant materials were collected from L. vulgaris plants that were previously regenerated in our laboratory. Materials and methods Plant materials were extracted with water, ethanol and acetone. For antibacterial test, disc diffusion method and 10 different pathogenic bacteria were used. Antioxidant activity was indicated by using DPPH method. The total phenol amount by using Folin-Ciocaltaeu method and the total flavonoid amount by using aluminum chloride (AlCl 3 ) colorimetric method were determined. Results Generally, yellow loosestrife extracts demonstrated antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis and Streptococcus pyogenes) . Strong antitumor activity of yellow loosestrife was observed via potato disc diffusion bioassay. Nine different phenolics were also determined and compared by using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Conclusion Future investigations should be focused on fractionation of the extracts to identify active components for biological activity.