Arum Palaestinum with isovanillin, linolenic acid and β-sitosterol inhibits prostate cancer spheroids and reduces the growth rate of prostate tumors in mice.

Caitlin Cole,Thomas Burgoyne,Gene Zaid,Lisa Stehno-Bittel,Annie Lee

doi:10.1186/s12906-015-0774-5

Abstract

BackgroundArum palaestinum is a plant commonly found in the Middle East that is ingested as an herbal remedy to fight cancer. However, no studies have examined the direct effect of the plant/plant extract on tumor growth in an animal model.MethodsVerified prostate cancer cells were plated as 3D spheroids to determine the effect of extract from boiled Arum Palaestinum Boiss roots. In addition, male NU/NU mice (8 weeks old) with xenograft tumors derived from the prostate cancer cell line were treated daily with 1000 mg/kg body weight gavage of the suspension GZ17. The tumor growth was measured repeatedly with calipers and the excised tumors were weighed at the termination of the 3 week study. Control mice (10 mice in each group) received vehicle in the same manner and volume.ResultsThe number of live prostate cancer cells declined in a dose/dependent manner with a 24 h exposure to the extract at doses of 0.015 to 6.25 mg/mL. A fortified version of the extract (referred to as GZ17) that contained higher levels of isovanillin, linolenic acid and β-sitosterol had a stronger effect on the cell death rate, shifting the percentage of dead cells from 30 % to 55 % at the highest dose while the vehicle control had no effect on cell numbers. When GZ17 was applied to non-cancer tissue, in this case, human islets, there was no cell death at doses that were toxic to treated cancer cells. Preliminary toxicity studies were conducted on rats using an up-down design, with no signs of toxic effect at the highest dose. NU/NU mice with xenograft prostate tumors treated with GZ17 had a dramatic inhibition of tumor progression, while tumors in the control group grew steadily through the 3 weeks. The rate of tumor volume increase was 73 mm3/day for the vehicle group and 24 mm3/day for the GZ17 treated mice. While there was a trend towards lower excised tumor weight at study termination in the GZ17 treatment group, there was no statistical difference.ConclusionsFortified Arum palaestinum Boiss caused a reduction in live cells within prostate cancer spheroids and blocked tumor growth in xenografted prostate tumors in mice without signs of toxicity.

Highlights

Arum palaestinum is a plant commonly found in the Middle East that is ingested as an herbal remedy to fight cancer
In Vitro prostate cancer spheroid effect Prostate cancer spheroids were exposed to increasing doses of Arum palaestinum Boiss extract or to the fortified version of the plant extract called GZ17
Both showed a dose-dependent increase in cell death at concentrations ranging from 0.015 to 6.25 mg/mL, but the GZ17 was slightly more potent at inducing cell death in the spheroids (Fig. 1a)

Summary

Introduction

Arum palaestinum is a plant commonly found in the Middle East that is ingested as an herbal remedy to fight cancer. The use of herbal remedies is widespread in both developing and developed countries [1] This type of treatment is vitally important to populations without other healthcare options. One of the most common plants ingested in the Palestinian region is the Arum palaestinum Boiss [3], known. Cole et al BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2015) 15:264 as the Black Calla Lily Often it is boiled and the leaves are fried in olive oil and eaten because it is believed to protect from colon cancer. Arum palaestinum Boiss is one of the most commonly utilized plants for cancer patients in the region [3]. There is a paucity of published articles devoted to the potential medicinal effects of this plant

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