title: Pyrenacantha volubilis Wight, (Icacinaceae) a rich source of camptothecine and its derivatives, from the Coromandel Coast forests of India.
abstract: Camptothecine, a potent eukaryotic topoisomerase inhibitor, is an important anticancer compound. The global demand for this compound was estimated to be $1 billion in 2003 and is only further expected to increase. Partly to meet the expected increase in demand, in the recent past, several efforts have been made to discover newer and alternative plant and fungal sources of camptothecine. In this study we report a rich source of camptothecine and its natural derivatives, Pyrenacantha volubilis (Icacinaceae) from the eastern coast of peninsular India. Camptothecine and its derivatives were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in all plant parts such as twigs, leaves, roots, seedling, ripened whole fruit, fruit coat, seed coat and cotyledons. Cotyledons and ripened whole fruits contained the highest amount of camptothecine (1.35% and 0.60% dry weight respectively). LC-MS and ESI-MS/MS analyses revealed besides camptothecine, other derivatives and precursors such as 10-hydroxycamptothecine, 9-methoxycamptothecine, 20-deoxycamptothecine, deoxypumiloside, strictosidine and strictosamide. Pure camptothecine was isolated from fruits and structurally confirmed using NMR. Seed extracts were found to be effective against breast cancer, ovarian, colon and carcinoma cell lines (with IC50 values of 4.0 μg/mL, 6.5 μg/mL, 25.0 μg/mL and 25.0 μg/mL respectively). We discuss the results in the context of exploring alternative sources of camptothecine.
authors.affiliation: School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 560 065, India.
authors.forename: Hirenallur Kumarappa
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Suma
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Davangere University, Shivagangothri, Davangere 577 002, India.
authors.forename: Vadlapudi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Sriramapura, Jakkur, Bangalore 560 064, India.
authors.forename: Umapathy
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Senthilkumar
authors.affiliation: School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 560 065, India; Department of Crop Physiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 560 065, India.
authors.forename: Patel Mohana
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Kumara
authors.affiliation: School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 560 065, India; Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Sriramapura, Jakkur, Bangalore 560 064, India.
authors.forename: Gudasalamani
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ravikanth
authors.affiliation: Apoptosis and Cell Signaling, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Trivandrum 695 014, India.
authors.forename: Thankayyan Retnabai
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Santhoshkumar
authors.affiliation: School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 560 065, India; Department of Biochemistry, Davangere University, Shivagangothri, Davangere 577 002, India; Department of Crop Physiology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 560 065, India. Electronic address: umashaanker@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ramanan Uma
authors.initials: RU
authors.lastname: Shaanker
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002166:Camptothecin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D002166:Camptothecin
keywords: Anticancer activity; Camptothecine; Icacinaceae; Pyrenacantha volubilis