Cephalostatin 1 analogues activate apoptosis via the endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling pathway.

The current study was conducted to compare the cytotoxicity of two stereospecific cephalostatin 1 analogues (CAs) against several human normal cell types and cancer cell lines and to determine their cytotoxic mechanism. Both CA analogues induced apoptosis and were cytotoxic with 50% growth inhibition (GI) at ~1µM or less in six human cancer cell lines but neither analogue at 10µM killed more than 14% of any of three types of normal human cells suggesting their cytotoxicity is cancer-specific. CA treatment inhibited clonogenic tumor growth and activated caspase 3 and 9 but not caspase 8.

Anti-spermatogenic activities of Taraxacum officinale whole plant and leaves aqueous extracts.

Taraxacum officinale has been used in Jordan folk medicine to treat male infertility. A recent study has proved a contradictory effect of the whole plant aqueous extract. The aim of the current study was to determine if the leaves of T.