Estrogenic and progestagenic effects of medicinal plants used for women's reproductive health in Guatemala

Abstract

Many medicinal plants are used by the Maya of Guatemala to treat all aspects of women's reproductive health. As part of an international collaboration, the eight medicinal plants were collected and extracted including Plantago major L., Wigandia urens (Ruiz & Pavón) Kunth., Hamelia patens Jacq., Smilax domingensis Willd., Pimenta guatemalensis (Lundell) Lundell, Phlebodium pseudoaureum (Cav.) Lellinger, Cecropia peltata L. and Euphorbia lancifolia Schldt. The plant extracts were tested in a wide range of bioassays including ERα and β and PR binding assays, COX-2 binding and functional assays, serotonin (5-HT1A) binding assays. Active extracts were further tested in cell based SEAP reporter gene assays in transiently transfected MCF-7 cells and endogenous gene expression in MCF-7 cells. Five plant extracts bound both to ERα and β (EC50 range 28.9 – 51.5 µg/ml); three plants bound to the PR receptor; and two bound to the 5HT1A receptor. Treatment of MCF-7 cells with the extracts (20 µg/ml) induced a SEAP reporter gene in transiently transfected MCF-7 cells, indicating estrogen agonist and antagonist effects. Smilax domingensis extracts (20 µg/ml) enhanced the expression of an ERE reporter gene, and the expression of PR mRNA in MCF-7 cells. Phlebodium pseudoaureum and Euphorbia lancifolia were not active in any assays tested.