Abstract
Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is considered to be a 'superfood' for its multiple protective actions on human health. Walnut extracts have proven antitumor activity in different cancer cell lines. However, the efficacy of septum extract against glioblastoma has still not been investigated. Glioblastoma is the most difficult type of brain cancer to treat. The standard therapy, based on temozolomide, causes several side effects, including neutropenia and lymphocytopenia, which often favor the onset of opportunistic infections. In the present study, the chemical profile of the Sicilian walnut septum ethanolic extract was analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detection and HPLC-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. The potential cytostatic activity of the extract against the human A172 glioblastoma cell line was investigated and the results showed that the extract could decrease cancer cell proliferation and migration. Using cytofluorimetric analyses and caspase-3 assays, the pro-apoptotic action of walnut extract was demonstrated. Furthermore, the evaluation of the antibacterial activity high-lighted the efficacy of the extract in reducing Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial growth, most of which were resistant to the antibiotic, ciprofloxacin. Finally, Prediction of Activity Spectra for Substances analysis showed the predicted antitumor and antibacterial activity of HPLC detected compounds. The promising results could provide novel perspective in the field of chemotherapeutic co-adjuvants.
Highlights
Plant extracts are becoming increasingly important, as a prominent source of active compounds, which are able to interfere with biological activities in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells [1]
Increasing scientific evidence highlights the crucial role of diet [48], probiotics [49] and nutraceutical [50] products on biological processes and, on human health and diseases, including cancer [51,52,53,54,55]
Bad dietary and lifestyle habits can induce both genetic and epigenetic changes [56], which can significantly impact the health status of individuals, inducing genetic mutations or the alteration in the expression levels of micro(mi)RNAs, which are known to be involved in the pathogenesis of different tumors
Summary
Plant extracts are becoming increasingly important, as a prominent source of active compounds, which are able to interfere with biological activities in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells [1]. (J. regia), the common walnut, belongs to the Juglandaceae family and is rich, in all parts, in various chemical products, with antimicrobial, anti‐biofilm, anti‐inflammatory and anti‐oxidant activities [3,4]. The anticancer activity of phenolic compounds and, in particular, the anti‐proliferative effect of J. regia extracts on human breast and oral cancer cell lines has been demonstrated [8,9]. Despite the proven antitumor effects on different cancer cell lines, the efficacy of walnut extract on glioblastoma cells is still currently unknown
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