piperine and Uterine-Cervical-Neoplasms

Piperine (PP), an alkaloid from black and long peppers (Piper nigrum Linn &Piper longum Linn), exhibits antitumor activities in vitro and in vivo. We investigated the ability of piperine (PP) to reverse the drug resistance of human cervical cancer cells. In our study, the cervica cancer cells resistant to mitomycin-C (MMC) treatment were used. We found the growth inhibitory effects of piperine on human cervical cancer cell, which were resistant to MMC. Piperine and MMC co-treatment resulted in a dose-dependent suppression of the cell proliferation. Decreasing of phosphorylated-signal transducer and activator of transcription (p-STAT3) was linked to the suppression of p65 by PP and MMC combinational treatment. Additionally, the presence of PP potentiated the effects of MMC on apoptosis induction in cervical cancer cells with drug resistance, which was dependent on Bcl-2 inhibition. The pro-apoptotic proteins of Bax and Bid were up-regulated, accompanied with Caspase cleavage. Moreover, in mice xenograft models, the combined therapy inhibited tumor growth compared to the PP or MMC mono-therapy group. Our data indicated a novel therapeutic strategy of PP to potentiate MMC-induced anti-tumor effect on cervical cancer cells with drug resistance through blocking p-STAT3/p65 and Bcl-2 activation.

Topics: Alkaloids; Animals; Apoptosis; Benzodioxoles; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Female; Humans; Male; Mice; Mice, Nude; Mitomycin; NF-kappa B; Piperidines; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; Signal Transduction; STAT3 Transcription Factor; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Benjakul [BEN], a Thai Traditional medicine preparation, is composed of five plants: Piper chaba fruit [PC], Piper sarmentosum root [PS], Piper interruptum stem [PI], Plumbago indica root [PL] and Zingiber officinale rhizome [ZO]. From selective interviews of folk doctors in Southern Thailand, it was found that Benjakul has been used for cancer patients.. To investigate cytotoxicity activity of Benjakul preparation [BEN] and its ingredients against three human cancer cell lines, large lung carcinoma cell line (COR-L23), cervical cancer cell line (Hela) liver cancer cell line (HepG2) as compared with normal lungfibroblast cell (MRC-5) by using SRB assay.. The extraction as imitated the method used by folk doctors was done by maceration in ethanol and boiling in water Bioassay guided isolation was used isolated cytotoxic compound.. The ethanolic extracts of PL, ZO, PC, PS, BEN and PS showed specific activity against lung cancer cell (IC50 = 3.4, 7.9, 15.8, 18.4, 19.8 and 32.91 microg/ml) but all the water extracts had no cytotoxic activity. Three active ingredients [6-gingerol, plumbagin and piperine as 0.54, 4.18 and 7.48% w/w yield of crude extract respectively] were isolated from the ethanolic extract of BEN and they also showed cytotoxic activity with plumbagin showing the highest cytotoxic activity against COR-L23, HepG2, Hela and MRC-5 (IC50 = 2.55, 2.61, 4.16 and 11.54 microM respectively).. These data results may support the Thai traditional doctors who are using Benjakul to treat cancer patients and three of its constituents (6-gingerol, plumbagin and piperine) are suggested to be used as biomarkers for standardization of this preparation.

Topics: Alkaloids; Benzodioxoles; Catechols; Cell Line, Tumor; Fatty Alcohols; Female; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; Lung Neoplasms; Medicine, East Asian Traditional; Naphthoquinones; Phytotherapy; Piper; Piperidines; Plant Extracts; Plants, Medicinal; Plumbaginaceae; Polyunsaturated Alkamides; Thailand; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Zingiber officinale