The polar and apolar fractions of Curcuma longa and C. zanthorriza enriched by ar-turmerone, ar-curcumene and xanthorrizol were screened for cytotoxic activity against the HeLa cell line. Actinomycin D and curcumin were used as reference samples, both known for their cytotoxic properties. Amongst all fractions tested, the xanthorrizol fraction (CC50: 26.1±1.9 μM) showed the strongest cytotoxic properties similar to those of curcumin (CC50: 8.1±1.7 μM). Further studies also revealed that the cytotoxic effects of the extracts and pure compounds are caused by apoptosis induction identified by the cleaved form of PARP protein
MataR, MartinezE, ByeR, MoralesG, SinghMP, JansoJE, MaieseM, TimmermannB. (2001) Biological and mechanistic activities of xanthorrizol and 4-(1 ’,5 ‘-dimethylhex-4 ‘-enyl)-2-methylphenol isolated from Iostephane heterophylla. Journal of Natural Products, 64, 911–914.
4.
KimHJ, YooHS, KimCS, ParkCS, KimM, ChoiH, MinJS, YoonSW, AhnJK. (2002) Antiviral effect of Curcuma longa Linn. extract against hepatitis B virus replication, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 124, 189–196.
5.
RukayadiY, HwangJK. (2007) In vitro antimycotic activity of xanthorrhizol isolated from Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb. against opportunistic filamentous fungi. Phytotherapy Research, 21, 434–438.
6.
GerigeSJ, RaoDM, YadavGMK, RamanjeneyuluR. (2008) Antimicribial activity of Curcuma longa L. leaf volatile oil and monoterpene alcohol compounds against skin pathogens. Asian Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Environmental Sciences, 10, 291–293.
7.
Topcu-TarladacalisirY, AkpolatM, UzYH, KizillayG, Sapmaz-MetinM, CerkezkayabekirA, OmurluIK. (2013) Effects of curcumin on apoptosis and oxidoinflammatory regulation in a rat model of acetic acid-induced colitis: the roles of c-Jun N-terminal kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase. Journal of Medicinal Food, 16, 296–305.
8.
ChoiMA, KimSH, ChungWY, HwangJK, ParkKK. (2005) Xanthorrhizol, a natural sesquiterpenoid from Curcuma xanthorrhiza, has an anti-metastatic potential in experimental mouse lung metastasis model. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 326, 210–217.
KarunagaranD, RashmiR, KumarTR, Santhosh. (2005) Induction of apoptosis by curcumin and its implications for cancer therapy. Current Cancer Drug Targets, 5, 117–29.
11.
IsmailN, PihieAH, NallapanM. (2005) Xanthorrhizol induces apoptosis via the UP-regulation of bax and p54 in Hela cells. Anticancer Research, 25, 2221–2228.
12.
CheahYH, NordinFJ, TeeTT, AzimatholNR, IsmailZ. (2008) Antiproliferative property and apoptotic effect of xanthorrhizol on MDA-231 breast cancer cells. Anticancer Research, 28, 3677–3690.
13.
HandayaniT, SakinahS, NallappanM, PihieAHL. (2007) Regulation of p53-, Bcl-2- and case-dependent signaling pathway in xanthorrizol-induced apoptosis of HepG2 heptoma cells. Anticancer Research, 27, 965–972.
14.
CheahYH, NordinFJ, SaripR, TeeTT, AzimatholHLP, SiratHM, SashidBAA, AbdullhaNR, IsmailZ. (2009) Combined xanthorrhizol-curcumin exhibits synergistic growth inhibitory activity via apoptosis induction in human breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231. Cancer Cell International, 9, 1–12.
15.
BaikKU, JungSH, AhnBZ. (1993) Recognition of pharmcophore of ar-turmerone for its anticancer activity. Archives of Pharmaceutical Research, 16, 254–256.
16.
MingjieJ, JaesueC, JeongnyeoL, YongkyuL. (2004), Induction of apoptosis by ar-turmerone on various cell lines. International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 14, 253–256.
17.
VankarPS. (2008) Effectiveness of antioxidant properties of fresh and dry rhizomes of Curcuma longa (long and short varieties) with dry turmeric spice. International Journal of Food Engineering, 4(8): doi: 10.2202/1556-3758.1441.
18.
ChaitanyaGV, AlexanderJS, BabuPP. (2010) PARP-1 cleavage fragments: signatures of cell-death proteases in neurodegeneration. Cell Communication and Signaling, 8:31, doi:10.1186/1478-811X-8-31.
19.
KubeckaKH. (1973) Separation of essential oils and similar complex mixtures for gas chromatographic analysis by modified dry-column chromatography, Chromatographia, 6, 106–108.
