Immunomodulatory and cytotoxic properties of natural triterpenoids isolated from Grewia flavescens Juss

Gihan O M. ELhassan; Sakina Yagi; M Ahmed Mesaik; Syam Mohan; Hassan A Alhazmi; Mohammed Al-Bratty; Marai M Al-Amri; Asaad Khalid

Articles

Abstract

Pharmacognosy Magazine,2021,17,05,s9-s14.

DOI:10.4103/pm.pm_235_20

Published:June 2021

Type:Original Article

Authors:

Author(s) affiliations:

Gihan O M. ELhassan¹, Sakina Yagi¹, M Ahmed Mesaik², Syam Mohan³, Hassan A Alhazmi⁴, Mohammed Al-Bratty⁵, Marai M Al-Amri⁶, Asaad Khalid⁷
¹ Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan
² Faculty of Medicine, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia; Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan
³ Substance Abuse and Toxicology Research Center, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
⁴ Substance Abuse and Toxicology Research Center, Jazan University; Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
⁵ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
⁶ Faculty of Medicine, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
⁷ Substance Abuse and Toxicology Research Center, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; National Center for Research, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Institute, Khartoum, Sudan

Abstract:

Background: Grewia flavescens Juss (Malvaceae) is a species that is distributed throughout semi-arid and sub-humid tropical areas of Africa, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and India. It is used in various traditional herbal practices for the treatment of various disease conditions. Objectives: The present investigation was undertaken to examine the immunomodulatory and cytotoxic properties of natural triterpenoids isolated from the stem bark of G. flavescens. Materials and Methods: The immunomodulatory activity was measured using oxidative burst chemiluminescence and phytohemagglutinin stimulated T-cell proliferation assay. The cytotoxicity was measured using MTT assay. One new triterpenoid (29 [30]-lupene-3, 20-diol; 3 β-form, 29-Aldehyde [4]) in addition to four known ones; lupeol (1), ß-sitosterol (2), betulin (3), and ß-sitosterol glucopyranoside (5), have been isolated from the stem bark of G. flavescens and identified using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet, and NMR techniques. Results: Chemiluminescence experiments showed that no compound exerted an inhibitory effect on reactive oxygen species production. However, 29 (30)-lupene-3, 20-diol; 3 β-form, 29-Aldehyde (4) significantly repressed the cell proliferation activity with an IC₅₀ of 8.7 μg/mL, whereas, ß-sitosterol glucopyranoside (5) and ß-sitosterol (2) showed moderate inhibitory activities (IC₅₀ of 16.7 and 23.6 μg/mL, respectively) compared to the standard drug prednisolone (0.2 μg/mL). Betulin (3) revealed the highest cytotoxicity activity toward Hela cancer cells, followed by 29 (30)-lupene-3, 20-diol; 3 β-form, 29-Aldehyde (4), and ß-sitosterol (2) with IC₅₀ 11.10, 16.5 and 21.51 μg/ml respectively. Conclusion: The present investigation supports the traditional use of this plant in treating various diseases and it has a good potential for future studies based on animal model based, which could bring more mechanistic facts about this plant's activity.