Chemical profiling and anti-breast cancer potential of hexane fraction of Sphaeranthus indicus flowers

Hafiz Majid Rasheed,Muhammad Qaisar,Taous Khan,Fazli Wahid,Abdul Jabbar Shah,Muhammad Ikram

doi:10.4314/tjpr.v20i9.21

Abstract

Purpose: The current study aimed to determine the phytochemicals and anti-breast cancer potential of Sphaeranthus indicus.Methods: S. indicus flowers were extracted with methanol followed by fractionation using n-hexane. For the chemical composition of n-hexane fraction, qualitative phytochemical and GC-MS analysis were performed. The anti-proliferative activity was measured by MTT assay, whereas, cytotoxic and proapoptotic effects in MCF-7 (breast cancer) cells were determined using propidium iodide, 4′,6-diamidino- 2-phenylindole, dichlorofluorescin diacetate, and JC-1 staining through fluorescent microscopy.Results: The phytochemical analysis indicated presence of phytosterols, oils and resins in the nhexane fraction. GC-MS analysis showed that n-hexane fraction comprises of 11 compounds including methyl esters of caprylic acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, margaric acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, elaidic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid and behanic acid. The tested fraction showed remarkable cytotoxic activity against breast cancer (MCF-7) cells while it was found less toxic towards non-cancerous (BHK-21) cells. Furthermore, morphological assessment through fluorescent microscopy revealed cytotoxic and apoptotic effects by improved cell membrane permeability, increased reactive oxygen species level, compromised mitochondrial activity and condensation of chromatin network.Conclusion: The n-hexane fraction of S. indicus contains phytosterols, oils and fatty acid methyl esters and produced apoptotic effect against breast cancer cells.

Highlights

Among cancers, breast cancer is the second leading cause of mortality after the lung cancer
Down regulation of breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1), breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2), p53, ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene and up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and HER2/neu lead to breast cancer [5]
The n-hexane fraction of S. indicus was subjected to phytochemical analysis, which indicated the presence of phytosterols, and oils and resins

Summary

Introduction

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of mortality after the lung cancer. About one million females are diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide with approximately 410,000 deaths [1]. The exact pathophysiology of breast cancer is uncertain in males. Breast cancer is usually caused by the deregulation of molecular players including inflammatory cytokines, tumor suppressor genes, DNA repair genes, proto-oncogenes, growth factor and growth factor receptors. The abnormal increase in interleukins (ILs), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kB) and tumor necrosis factors (TNF) normally promote breast cancer. Down regulation of breast cancer gene 1 (BRCA1), breast cancer gene 2 (BRCA2), p53, ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene and up-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and HER2/neu lead to breast cancer [5]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion