Antitumoral and Immunomodulatory Effect of Mahonia aquifolium Extracts

Antitumoral and Immunomodulatory Effect of Mahonia aquifolium Extracts: The prodrug potential of Mahonia aquifolium, a plant used for centuries in traditional medicine, recently gained visibility in the literature, and the activity of several active compounds isolated from its extracts was studied on biologic systems in vitro and in vivo. Whereas the antioxidative and antitumor activities of M. aquifolium-derived compounds were studied at some extent, there are very few data about their outcome on the immune system and tumor cells. To elucidate the M. aquifolium potential immunomodulatory and antiproliferative effects, the bark, leaf, flower, green fruit, and ripe fruit extracts from the plant were tested on peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tumor cells. The extracts exert fine-tuned control on the immune response, by modulating the CD25 lymphocyte activation pathway, the interleukin-10 signaling, and the tumor necrosis-alpha secretion in four distinct human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subpopulations. M. aquifolium extracts exhibit a moderate cytotoxicity and changes in the signaling pathways linked to cell adhesion, proliferation, migration, and apoptosis of the tumor cells. These results open perspectives to further investigation of the M. aquifolium extract prodrug potential.

Oregon Grape

Plants

Description

Mahonia aquifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to western North America. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 1 m tall by 1.5 m wide, with pinnate leaves consisting of spiny leaflets, and dense clusters of yellow flowers in early spring, followed by dark bluish-black berries. Wikipedia

Scientific name: Mahonia aquifolium

Family: Berberidaceae

Higher classification: Mahonia

Rank: Species

Symbol of: Oregon

Kingdom: Plantae