Hanuš L, Naor T, Gloriozova T, Dembitsky VM. Natural isothiocyanates of the genus Capparis as potential agonists of apoptosis and antitumor drugs. World J Pharmacol 2023; 12(4): 35-52 [DOI: 10.5497/wjp.v12.i4.35]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Lumír Hanuš, Institute for Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University, Ein Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 91120, Israel. lumirh@ekmd.huji.ac.il
Research Domain of This Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Article-Type of This Article
Basic Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Pharmacol. Dec 22, 2023; 12(4): 35-52 Published online Dec 22, 2023. doi: 10.5497/wjp.v12.i4.35
Natural isothiocyanates of the genus Capparis as potential agonists of apoptosis and antitumor drugs
Lumír Hanuš, Tuvia Naor, Tatyana Gloriozova, Valery M Dembitsky
Lumír Hanuš, Institute for Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University, Ein Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Tuvia Naor, Food Chemistry, Kibbutz, Yotvata 8882000, Israel
Tatyana Gloriozova, Department of Bioinformatics, Institute of Biomedical Chemistry, Moscow 119121, Russia
Valery M Dembitsky, Centre for Applied Research and Innovation, Lethbridge College, Lethbridge AB T1K 1L6, Canada
Co-corresponding authors: Lumír Hanuš and Valery M Dembitsky.
Author contributions: Hanuš L carried out the extraction and analysis of volatile components of yellow and green fruits, seeds, and jam from the scrambling shrub Capparis cartilaginea; Naor T grew the material and provided it for analysis; Gloriozova T determined the biological activity of volatile components; Dembitsky VM prepared the article for publication and also wrote and reviewed this article; and all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript. In addition, the co-corresponding authors contributed equally to the accompanying manuscript, such as describing the methods, their application to the analysis, and writing the discussion.
Institutional review board statement: The study was conducted in silico and did not include humans or animals, so a statement from the Institutional Review Board was not necessary.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The study was conducted only in a computational environment and the data and three-dimensional structures used are available in public online databases.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Lumír Hanuš, Institute for Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University, Ein Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 91120, Israel. lumirh@ekmd.huji.ac.il
Received: August 28, 2023 Peer-review started: August 28, 2023 First decision: September 19, 2023 Revised: October 12, 2023 Accepted: November 24, 2023 Article in press: November 24, 2023 Published online: December 22, 2023
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, we examined the composition of volatile components present in the yellow and green fruits, seeds, and jam of the scrambling shrub Capparis cartilaginea (C. cartilaginea). These plant samples were collected from Kibbutz Yotvata in Israel. In all the tested samples, isothiocyanates were identified. Utilizing the PASS program, we ascertained the biological activity of these isothiocyanates present in the Capparis genus. The study results highlighted that all isothiocyanates could potentially act as apoptosis agonists, making them strong candidates for antitumor drugs. This information holds significant value for the fields of medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and practical medicine.
AIM
To investigate the volatile components present in the yellow and green fruits, seeds, and jam of the C. cartilaginea shrub using GC/MS analysis, to detect isothiocyanates in all the analyzed plant samples, and to assess the biological activity of these isothiocyanates utilizing the PASS program.
METHODS
We utilized two primary methods to analyze the volatile compounds present in the yellow and green fruits, seeds, and jams of the C. cartilaginea, native to Israel. We identified biologically active isothiocyanates in these samples. Their anticipated biological activities were determined using the PASS program, with the most dominant activities being apoptosis agonist, anticarcinogenic, and antineoplastic specifically for genitourinary cancer.
RESULTS
Fruits, seeds, and jams containing isothiocyanates, which exhibit antineoplastic and anticarcinogenic activities, could be suggested for cancer prevention and management. Specific isothiocyanates, with therapeutic potential in this realm, could be recommended as potent anticancer agents in practical medicine following clinical trials.
CONCLUSION
The discovery that isothiocyanates exhibit potent antineoplastic and anticarcinogenic activities was unexpected. Additionally, certain isothiocyanates demonstrated antifungal, antiviral (specifically against arbovirus), and antiparasitic properties.
Core Tip: Using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, we examined the composition of volatile components present in the yellow and green fruits, seeds, and jam of the scrambling shrub Capparis cartilaginea. Fruits, seeds, and jams containing isothiocyanates, which exhibit antineoplastic and anticarcinogenic activities, could be suggested for cancer prevention and management. Specific isothiocyanates, with therapeutic potential in this realm, could be recommended as potent anticancer agents in practical medicine following clinical trials.
