Background: Moringa oleifera belongs to plant family, Moringaceae and popularly called ―wonderful tree‖, for it is used traditionally to cure many diseases including cancer in Africa and Asia, however, there is limited knowledge on cytotoxic activity of Moringa oleifera seeds on MCF7 breast cancer cell. The present study evaluated antiproliferative effect on MCF7 of the seed. Materials and Methods: Seeds of Moringa oleifera were grinded to powder and its phytochemicals were extracted using water and 80% ethanol solvents, part of the ethanolic extract were sequentially partitioned to fractions with four solvents (hexane, dichloromethane, chloroform, and n-butanol). Antiproliferative effects on MCF7 of the samples were determined. Finally, potent samples that significantly inhibited MCF7 growth were tested on MCF 10A. Results: Crude water extract, hexane and dichloromethane fractions of the seeds inhibited the proliferation of MCF7 with the following IC50 values 280 μg/ml, 130 μg/ml and 26 μg/ml respectively, however, of the 3 samples, only hexane fraction had minimal cytotoxic effect on MCF 10A (IC50 > 400μg/ml). Conclusion: Moringa oleifera seed has antiproliferative effect on MCF7.

Background: Academic reports have confirmed Moringa oleifera leaves to possess significant antioxidant capacities; however, such studies are unavailable for its ripe seeds even though they are more desirous for consumption due to their sweet taste. Objective: In this study, we investigated antioxidant capacities of four polar extracts (crude water, ethanol, butanol, and aqueous residue) from the plant's ripe seeds. Materials and Methods: Phytochemicals were extracted from the ripe seeds of M. oleifera using ethanol and water solvents at initial stage. Butanol and aqueous residue were then subsequently fractioned out from the ethanol extract. Phenolic and flavonoid contents of the polar extracts were determined. Then, their antioxidant capacities were quantified by 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays. Finally, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses of the extracts were performed. Results: DPPH and ABTS tests showed that the polar extracts possess significant antioxidant capacities that ranged from 29 to 35.408 μM Trolox equivalence antioxidant capacity (TEAC)/mg sample and 7 to 29 μM TEAC/mg sample, respectively. The antioxidant capacities of the extracts corresponded to their phenolic and flavonoid contents that varied from 13.61 to 20.42 mg gallic acid equivalence/g sample and 0.58 to 9.81 mg quercetin equivalence/g sample, respectively. Finally, GC-MS analyses revealed antimicrobial phenolic compounds, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde in crude water extract and 4-hydroxybenzene acetonitrile in the ethanol and butanol extracts, and aqueous residue. Conclusion: Our results established that M. oleifera ripe seeds have significant antioxidant activity which may be due to its phenolic and nonphenolic compounds content. Abbreviations used: ABTS: 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid); DPPH: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; TEAC: Trolox equivalence antioxidant capacity; QE: Quercetin equivalence; GAE: Gallic acid equivalence; GC-MS: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Background: Recently, nanoparticle synthesis by eco-friendly methods has received tremendous attention due to the method advantages and also because of the application of the nanoparticles in cancer research. Therefore, in this study, we synthesized silver nanoparticles from Detarium microcarpum leaf phytochemicals and evaluated its inhibitory effect on pancreatic and cervical cancer cells. Materials and Methods: Silver nanoparticles (dAgNps) were synthesized by reacting phytochemicals of D. microcarpum leaves with silver nitrate for 12 hours. Cell viability assay was carried out to investigate the cytotoxic effect of dAgNps on HeLa and PANC-1 cells. Results: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM) results revealed the average sizes of dAgNps are 81 nm and 84 nm respectively. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of dAgNps was similar to that of face centered cubic(fcc) structure of silver as reported by joint committee on powder diffraction standards (JCPDS) and fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed that some phytochemicals of D. microcarpum such as polyphenols and flavonoids were likely involved in the reduction of Ag+ to form nanoparticles. Finally, cell viability assay revealed dAgNps inhibited PANC-1 and HeLa cell proliferations with IC50 values of 84 and 31.5 µg/ml respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, the synthesized nanoparticles from D. microcarpum leaves (dAgNps) have inhibitory effect on pancreatic and cervical cancer cells.

Background. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) persists to be a major health problem especially among children as effective chemotherapy to combat the disease is yet to be available.Boswellia dalzieliiis a well-known herb that is traditionally used for treatment and management of many diseases including degenerative diseases. In this study, silver nanoparticles were synthesized from the phytochemicals ofB. dalzieliistem bark aqueous extract. The silver nanoparticles were characterized by carrying out Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Energy Filtered Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction, and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analyses. Antioxidant capacity of the nanoparticles was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, and the antiproliferative effect of the nanoparticles on Kasumi-1 leukemia cells was investigated using PrestoBlue assay. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to observe the effect of the nanoparticles on the leukemia cell cycle progression.Results. Our findings revealed that the synthesized silver nanoparticles were formed from electrons of the plant phytochemicals which include aromatic compounds, ethers, and alkynes. FESEM analysis revealed that the sizes of the nanoparticles range from 12 nm to 101 nm; however, DLS analysis estimated a larger average size of the nanoparticles (108.3 nm) because it measured the hydrodynamic radii of the nanoparticles. The zeta potential of the nanoparticles was −16 nm, and the XRD pattern of the nanoparticles has distinct peaks at 38.02°, 42.94°, 64.45°, 77.20°, and 81.47°, which is typical of face-centered cubic (fcc) structure of silver. The Trolox Equivalence Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) of the nanoparticles was estimated to be 300.91 μM Trolox/mg silver nanoparticles. The nanoparticles inhibited Kasumi-1 cell proliferation. The half minimal inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) that inhibited Kasumi-1 cell proliferation are 49.5 μg/ml and 13.25 μg/ml at 48 and 72 hours, respectively. The nanoparticles induced cell cycle arrest in the Kasumi-1 cells at S (5% increase) and G2/M (3% increase) phases.Conclusion. The nanoparticles synthesized from the stem bark extract ofB. dalzieliiinhibit the growth of Kasumi-1 leukemia cells by activating cell cycle arrest; thus, they are potential antileukemic agents.

Moringa oleifera : An apoptosis inducer in cancer cells

Despite the availability of anticancer drugs, breast cancer remains the most death-causing tumor-related disease in women. Hence, there is a need for discovery and development of efficient alternative drugs, and sources such as plants need to be explored. In this study, antioxidant capacities and inhibitory effects against MCF7 cells of the extracts of stem bark of three Nigerian medicinal plants (Detarium microcarpum,Guiera senegalensis,andCassia siamea) were investigated. TheD. microcarpumextracts had the highest antioxidant and antiproliferative effects, followed by that ofG. senegalensis, and theC. siameaextracts had minimal effects. The IC₅₀values of the methanol and aqueous extracts from the three plants that inhibited the proliferation of MCF7 cells ranged from 78–> 500μg/ml. Moreover, all the plant extracts but the aqueous extract ofCassia siameaexhibited antimetastatic action and induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in MCF7 cells. Liquid chromatography/time-of-flight/mass spectrometry profiling revealed that the five potent extracts contain many phenols and omega-6 fatty acids, and some of the identified compounds (isorhamnetin, eupatorin, alpinumisoflavone, procyanidin B3, syringin, and gallic acid) have been reported to have antiproliferative effects on cancer cells. Hence, the stem bark of these plants could be potential sources of antibreast cancer agents.