Pharmacological evaluation of phytochemicals from South Indian Black Turmeric (Curcuma caesia Roxb.) to target cancer apoptosis

Journal of Ethnopharmacology Volume 209, 14 September 2017, Pages 82-90 Journal of Ethnopharmacology . Author links open the author workspace.K.S.Mukunthana. Numbers and letters correspond to the affiliation list. Click to expose these in author workspaceOpens the author workspaceOpens the author workspace. Author links open the author workspace.R.S.Satyanb. Numbers and letters correspond to the affiliation list. Click to expose these in author workspace. Author links open the author workspace.T.N.Patelc. Numbers and letters correspond to the affiliation list. Click to expose these in author workspaceOpens the author workspaceOpens the author workspace a Department of Biotechnology, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal University, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India b Parikshan, C-53, T.V.K. Industrial Estate, Guindy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India c Division of Medical Biotechnology, School of Bioscience and Technology, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India Received 29 November 2016, Revised 14 July 2017, Accepted 15 July 2017, Available online 19 July 2017. crossmark-logo Show less https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2017.07.021Get rights and content Abstract Curcuma caesia Roxb. (Black turmeric), a perennial herb of the family Zingiberaceae is indigenous to India. C. caesia is used as a spice, food preservative and coloring agent commonly in the Indian subcontinent. Functional parametric pharmacological evaluations like drug ability and toxicity profile of this endangered species is poorly documented. In our present study, among all the extracts of dried C. caesia rhizome viz- hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol and water tested for free radical scavenging capacity by total antioxidant activity (TAO) method, Hexane Rhizome Extract (HRE) was found to possess remarkable activity (1200 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/100 g). In MTT assay across three cancer cell lines and a control cell line, HRE exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition only in cancer cells, with notable activity in HepG2 cell lines (IC50: 0976 µg/mL). Further, western blotting and flow cytometry experiments proved that HRE induces cell arrest at G2/M phase along with cellular apoptosis as suggestive by multiple-point mitochondrial mediated intrinsic pathway of Programmed Cell Death (PCD). Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS) analysis of HRE suggested twenty compounds that when docked in silico with Tubulin (1SA0) and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor/ EGFR (1XKK) showed very intimate binding with the original ligands. Our results provided significant evidence of the toxicity mechanisms of HRE that may be beneficial for more rational applications of drug discovery for slowing down cancer progression. Graphical abstract fx1 Download high-res image (344KB)Download full-size image Keywords Curcuma caesia Roxb.Hexane Rhizome Extract (HRE)GC-MSMolecular DockingTubulin and EGFR tyrosin kinase