LETTER Maslinic acid and its in vitro anti-neoplastic effects

摘要

TO THE EDITOR: I read with great interest the recent article by Chaudhuri and Singh (2013). Maslinic acid may have significant anti-neoplastic effects in a number of systemic malignancies. Maslinic acid accentuates apoptosis in colon cancers. It mediates this by activating p53 and the expression of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) in mitochondria (Reyes-Zurita et al. 2011). These effects are clearly seen in HT29 colon cancer cell lines following the administration of maslinic acid (Reyes-Zurita et al. 2009). Besides its modulatory effects on the JNK-Bid-mitochondrial apoptotic pathway, maslinic acid decreases the expression of Bcl-2 and enhances the expression of Bax in the cancer cells. A simultaneous accentuation of caspase-7 and caspase-9 expression is also seen. Similarly, maslinic acid reduces intracellular reactive oxygen species and protects against oxidative DNA modulation and alteration in breast tissue (Allouche et al. 2011). As a result, it attenuates the risk of breast cancer development. Allouche et al. have confirmed these anti-oxidant and pro-apoptotic effects in MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines.