A natural product, voacamine, sensitizes paclitaxel-resistant human ovarian cancer cells.

Most women with ovarian cancer are treated with chemotherapy before or after surgery. Unfortunately, chemotherapy treatment can cause negative side effects and the onset of multidrug resistance (MDR). The aim of this study is to evaluate the chemosensitizing effect of a natural compound, voacamine (VOA), in ovarian (A2780 DX) and colon (LoVo DX) cancer drug-resistant cell lines which overexpress P-glycoprotein (P-gp), in combination with paclitaxel (PTX), or doxorubicin (DOX) or 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) food supplements and hepatotoxicity: an integrated evaluation approach.

Introduction: Turmeric is the common name for the rhizome of Curcuma longa L. In the recent years, food supplements containing turmeric have been marketed and widely used by an increasing number of consumers. Spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to food supplements are collected within the Phytovigilance system.

Voacamine: Alkaloid with its essential dimeric units to reverse tumor multidrug resistance.

Search for natural substances in association with conventional chemotherapeutic drugs with a chemiosensitizing action easily accessible to the tumor mass has encouraged our studies on voacamine (VOA) and its monomeric units, voacangine and vobasine. Our previous results showed that VOA sensitized multidrug resistant (MDR) osteosarcoma cells (U-2 OS/DX) to doxorubicin (DOX) cytotoxicity. VOA, extracted by Peschiera fuchsiaefolia plant, is a bisindole alkaloid consisting of an Iboga skeleton (voacangine) directly linked to a 2-acyl indole unit (vobasine).

HPTLC-PCA Complementary to HRMS-PCA in the Case Study of Antioxidant Phenolic Profiling.

A comparison between High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) analysis and Liquid Chromatography High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS), coupled with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried out by performing a combined metabolomics study to discriminate () plants. For a rapid digital record of extracts (leaves, yellow fruit, and red fruit collected in La Maddalena and Sassari, Sardinia), HPTLC was used. Data were then analysed by PCA with the results of the ability of this technique to discriminate samples.

Triacylglycerol "hand-shape profile" of Argan oil. Rapid and simple UHPLC-PDA-ESI-TOF/MS and HPTLC methods to detect counterfeit Argan oil and Argan-oil-based products.

The marketing of new argan-based products is greatly increased in the last few years and consequently, it has enhanced the number of control analysis aimed at detecting counterfeit products claiming argan oil as a major ingredient. Argan oil is produced in Morocco and it is quite expensive. Two simple methods for the rapid screening of pure oil and argan-oil based products, focused on the analysis of the triacylglycerol profile, have been developed.

High-performance thin-layer chromatography for the evaluation of voacamine intracellular concentration related to its cytotoxic effect.

Previous investigations demonstrated that pretreatment with non-cytotoxic concentrations of voacamine had a chemosensitizing effect on cultured multidrug resistant osteosarcoma cells exposed to doxorubicin; whereas when used alone at high concentrations voacamine induced apoptosis-independent cell death on both sensitive and resistant cells. To gain insight into the mechanism of action of voacamine at the subcellular level, we developed an analytical high-performance thin-layer chromatography technique to assess the intracellular content of voacamine that could be correlated with the induction of cell death and consequent morphological and ultrastructural changes. The results of the quantitative analysis not only did allow us to measure both the amount of unmodified voacamine molecules (determined by the method) and the amount of molecules which reacted with cellular components (undetectable), but also to confirm the findings of our previous studies and support the validity of this method.

UHPLC-PDA-ESI-TOF/MS metabolic profiling of Arctostaphylos pungens and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. A comparative study of phenolic compounds from leaf methanolic extracts.

The aim of this study was to get a rapid metabolic fingerprinting and to gain insight into the metabolic profiling of Arctostaphylos pungens H. B. K.

Voacamine modulates the sensitivity to doxorubicin of resistant osteosarcoma and melanoma cells and does not induce toxicity in normal fibroblasts.

In previous studies it has been demonstrated that the plant alkaloid voacamine (1), used at noncytotoxic concentrations, enhanced the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin and exerted a chemosensitizing effect on cultured multidrug-resistant (MDR) U-2 OS-DX osteosarcoma cells. The in vitro investigations reported herein gave the following results: (i) the chemosensitizing effect of 1, in terms of drug accumulation and cell survival, was confirmed using SAOS-2-DX cells, another MDR osteosarcoma cell line; (ii) compound 1 enhanced the cytotoxic effect of doxorubicin also on the melanoma cell line Me30966, intrinsically drug resistant and P-glycoprotein-negative; (iii) at the concentrations used to sensitize tumor cells, 1 was not cytotoxic to normal cells (human fibroblasts). These findings suggest possible applications of voacamine (1) in integrative oncologic therapies against resistant tumors.

Bearberry identification by a multidisciplinary study on commercial raw materials.

Herbal species different from the official bearberry, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, are sold through conventional markets and also through non-controlled Internet websites, putting consumer safety at risk owing to the lack of quality control. Recently, Arctostaphylos pungens has become one of the most used species as a raw material for herbal medicines and dietary supplements in the place of official bearberry, a plant used for the treatment of various urinary disorders. A fingerprint identification based on an integrated application of different analytical techniques (HPTLC, NMR, HPLC-DAD and LC-ESI-MS) is here described to distinguish A.

Chemical fingerprinting of Equisetum arvense L. using HPTLC densitometry and HPLC.

Equisetum arvense L. is a herbaceous medicinal plant, commonly known as horsetail, whose extracts have been reported to possess diuretic and haemostatic properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of fingerprint chromatographic methods on commercially available raw materials or preparations of E.

Plants and parts of plants used in food supplements: an approach to their safety assessments.

In Italy most herbal products are sold as food supplements and are subject only to food law. A list of about 1200 plants authorised for use in food supplements has been compiled by the Italian Ministry of Health. In order to review and possibly improve the Ministry's list an ad hoc working group of Istituto Superiore di Sanità was requested to provide a technical and scientific opinion on plant safety.

Alkaloids from Glaucium flavum from Sardinia.

Glaucium flavum collected in Sardinia was studied using a phytochemical approach in order to evaluate its alkaloid composition and obtain a comparison with the alkaloid contents of the same species in populations of other geographic proveniences. In fact, different chemoecotypes of G. flavum have been identified, on the basis of their particular content and composition in alkaloids, in accordance with the different distribution areas.

Chemical fingerprinting of Lawsonia inermis L. using HPLC, HPTLC and densitometry.

Introduction: Lawsonia inermis L. is a natural red colouring agent, commonly named "Henna", which is used to dye skin and hair. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of L.

High-performance liquid chromatography analysis of anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals with ultraviolet and electrospray-mass spectrometry detection in suspected counterfeit homeopathic medicinal products.

A simple high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with both ultraviolet (UV) and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) detection has been developed for the determination of seven pharmaceuticals in counterfeit homeopathic preparations. Naproxen, Ketoprofen, Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Piroxicam, Nimesulide and Paracetamol were separated by reversed phase chromatography with acetonitrile-water (0.1% acetic acid) mobile phase, and detected by UV at 245 nm and by ESI-MS in negative ionisation mode with the exception of Paracetamol which was detected in positive ionisation mode.

[Herbal drugs: from traditional use to regulation].

Herbal preparations have been used for centuries as the main therapeutic means. In Italy there is an ancient tradition of using herbal remedies, which became extremely important from the 16th to the 18th century. Nowadays multinational companies invest great resources on herbal drugs and preparations.