Determination of Cytotoxic Activity of Sanguinaria canadensis Extracts against Human Melanoma Cells and Comparison of Their Cytotoxicity with Cytotoxicity of Some Anticancer Drugs

Melanoma is an enormous global health burden, and should be effectively addressed with better therapeutic strategies. Therefore, new therapeutic agents are needed for the management of this disease. The aim of this study was the investigation of cytotoxic activity of some isoquinoline alkaloid standards and extracts obtained from Sanguinaria canadensis—collected before, during, and after flowering—against three different human melanoma cells (A375, G361, SK-MEL-3). The cytotoxicity of these extracts was not previously tested on these melanoma cell lines. Determination of alkaloid contents was performed by HPLC-DAD using Polar RP column and mobile phase containing acetonitrile, water, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. The cytotoxicity of alkaloid standards was investigated by determination of cell viability and calculation of IC₅₀ values. Significant differences were observed in the alkaloids content and cytotoxic activity of the extracts, depending on the season of collection of the plant material. In the Sanguinaria canadensis extracts high contents of sanguinarine (from 4.8543 to 9.5899 mg/g of dry plant material) and chelerythrine (from 42.7224 to 6.8722 mg/g of dry plant material) were found. For both of these alkaloids, very high cytotoxic activity against the tested cell lines were observed. The IC₅₀ values were in the range of 0.11–0.54 µg/mL for sanguinarine and 0.14 to 0.46 µg/mL for chelerythrine. IC₅₀ values obtained for Sanguinaria canadensis extracts against all tested cell lines were also very low (from 0.88 to 10.96 µg/mL). Cytotoxic activity of alkaloid standards and Sanguinaria canadensis extracts were compared with the cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs—etoposide, cisplatin, and hydroxyurea. In all cases except the one obtained for cisplatin against A375, which was similar to that obtained for Sanguinaria canadensis after flowering against the same cell line, IC₅₀ values obtained for anticancer drugs were higher than the IC₅₀ values obtained for sanguinarine, chelerythrine, and Sanguinaria canadensis extracts. Our results showed that Sanguinaria canadensis extracts and isoquinoline alkaloids, especially sanguinarine and chelerythrine, could be recommended for further in vivo experiments in order to confirm the possibility of their application in the treatment of human melanomas.     

Determination of Cytotoxic Activity of Selected Isoquinoline Alkaloids and Plant Extracts Obtained from Various Parts of Mahonia aquifolium Collected in Various Vegetation Seasons

Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer that begins in cells known as melanocytes. While it is less common than the other forms of skin cancer, melanoma is more dangerous because of its ability to spread to other organs more rapidly if it is not treated at an early stage. The number of people diagnosed with melanoma has increased over the last few decades. The most widely used treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. The search for new drugs to treat various cancers is one of the most important challenges of modern scientific research. Some isoquinoline alkaloids found in different plant species have strong cytotoxic effects on various cancer cells. We tested the effect of isoquinoline alkaloids and extracts obtained from various parts of Mahonia aquifolium collected in various vegetation seasons on human melanoma cancer cells and our data indicated that investigated extract induced significant reduction in cell viability of Human malignant melanoma cells (A375), human Caucasian malignant melanoma cell line (G361), and human malignant melanoma cell line (SKMEL3 cancer cell lines in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Differences in cytotoxic activity were observed for extracts obtained from various parts of Mahonia aquifolium. Significant differences were also obtained in the alkaloids content and cytotoxic activity of the extracts depending on the season of collection of plant material. Our investigations exhibit that these plant extracts can be recommended for further in vivo experiments in order to confirm the possibility of their use in the treatment of human melanomas.     

The effect of chromatographic conditions on the separation of selected alkaloids on CN-silica layers

ABSTRACT

Selected alkaloids were chromatographed on cyanopropyl-silica thin layers using nonaqueous and aqueous eluents containing various free silanol blocker agents. Because of the strong retention of these basic compounds, nonaqueous eluents containing medium polar diluents, strongly polar modifiers, or aqueous eluents containing organic modifier, water, and silanol blockers (ammonia, diethylamine, and ionic liquid) were required for analysis. Mobile phases containing addition of acids were also tested for separation of investigated alkaloids. The most selective and efficient systems were used in two-dimensional separations of isoquinoline alkaloids’ mixture and plant extracts.     

Separation of a Mixture of Eleven Alkaloids by 2D-TLC on Multi-K CS5 Plates and identification of Analytes in Thalictrum foetidum Root Extract by TLC and HPLC—DAD

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - In this study, authors propose a simple and cost-effective two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography (2D-TLC) method for the...     

Comparison of different HPLC systems for analysis of galantamine and lycorine in various species of Amaryllidaceae family

Retention parameters of galantamine and lycorine standards were determined on different columns, i.e., octadecyl silica, SM C18, and strong cation-exchange (SCX) columns with different aqueous mobile phases. Retention of alkaloids was investigated on C18, SM C18 columns with mobile phase containing 5% MeCN, 20% acetate buffer at pH 3.5, and 0.025 ML^?1 diethylamine (DEA), and on SCX column with mobile phase containing 8% MeCN and phosphate buffer at pH 2.5. Better results were also obtained in ion-exchange chromatographic system. On the basis of results obtained in different chromatographic systems, simple, rapid, and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography methods were developed for determining lycorine and galantamine in plant extracts from various species belonging to Amaryllidaceae family. Extracts were prepared from various parts of plants collected at different times of the growing season.