Abstract
Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix) is a plant member of family Rutaceae, and its leaves are commonly used in folk medicine. The present study explores antileukemic effects of the extracts and purified active compounds from the leaves. The antileukemic activity was investigated via inhibition of Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1), which is a protein that involves in leukemic cell proliferation. In addition, the compounds were investigated for their effects on WT1 gene expression using real time RT-PCR and Western blotting. Cell cycle arrest and total cell number were investigated using flow cytometry and trypan blue exclusion method, respectively. The results demonstrated that the hexane fractionated extract had the greatest inhibitory effect on WT1 gene expression of many leukemic cell lines and significantly decreased WT1 protein levels of K562 cells (representative of the leukemic cells), in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Subfraction No. 9 (F9) after partial purification of hexane fractioned extract showed the highest suppression on WT1 protein and suppressed cell cycle at G2/M. The organic compounds were isolated from F9 and identified as phytol and lupeol. The bioassays confirmed antiproliferative activities of natural products phytol and lupeol. The results demonstrated anticancer activity of the isolated phytol and lupeol to decrease leukemic cell proliferation.
Highlights
Kaffir lime, a common name of Citrus hystrix, is a plant belongs to the Rutaceae family and widely grown in Thailand and known as Makrut
It was considered that ethanol can dissolve many compounds present in kaffir lime
The results showed that subfraction numbers 1, 2, 9, 10, 11, and had cytotoxic effects on the K562 cells, whereas subfraction numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and demonstrated no cytotoxicity (IC50 >100 μg/mL)
Summary
A common name of Citrus hystrix, is a plant belongs to the Rutaceae family and widely grown in Thailand and known as Makrut. It is widely distributed and cultivated in many countries including Southeast Asia. Molecules 2020, 25, 1300 lime leaves and peels are aromatic and used as spices for various flavoring purposes such as seasoning or preparing savory curry pastes (red and green curry recipes). Lawrence et al reported that the main chemical constituents in kaffir lime peel were β-pinene (30.6%), limonene (29.2%), and sabinene (22.6%), and the main compound in leaves was citronellal (65.4%) [2]. Reports concerning the amount of each chemical content were slightly different
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