Lipid raft biomaterial as a mass screening affinity tool for rapid identification of potential antitumor Chinese herbal medicine

IntroductionThe quest for novel cancer drugs is one of the most significant studies in natural products, and Chinese herbs with its promising antitumor properties cannot be exempted from this chemotherapeutic bracket. This study was therefore aimed at piloting the use of receptor-rich lipid raft biomaterial as a mass screening tool for rapid isolation of effective antitumor components from some Chinese herbs used in the treatment of diseases consistent with cancer symptoms.MethodAqueous crude extracts from 10 different Chinese herbs (Paeonia suffruticosa, Vaccaria segetalis, Terminalia chebula, Trichosanthes kirilowii, Arisaema erubescens, Morus australis, Centella asiatica, Rhematoxylon campechianum, Trachelospermum jasminoides and Taraxacum officinale) were screened using lipid raft silica beads. The identified bioactive products were separated into various fractions (petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol and raffinate extracts) with another affinity screening analysis. Conventional MTT bioassay was employed to authenticate the susceptibility of liver cancer cells to the final bioactive isolates.ResultsThe results showed that only Vaccaria segetalis and Arisaema erubescens significantly interacted with the system. The MTT bioassay further confirmed the cytotoxicity of these plants and the data correlated very well with its reported cancer-related activities.ConclusionThese findings support the reliable application of the lipid raft biomaterial as a prospective mass screening technique for antitumor natural products.

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