Claudia Villalobos
The side effects caused by cancer treatments vary from person to person. These occur because the drugs affect healthy tissues or organs, and to a lesser or greater extent, they occur in patients treated with chemotherapy. For this reason, Diana Navarrete Carriola, a scientist from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), initiated a project based on the use given in some regions of Mexico to the Iostephane heterophylla plant, commonly known as "Manso Plant", to treat certain types of cancer.
The Master of Science from the Center for Genomic Biotechnology (CBG) specified that the research will validate the ethnobotanical knowledge of the population and lay the foundation for extrapolating it towards the search for new treatments with fewer side effects than current drugs.
"To carry out the study, the use that the population gives to the plant, as well as the scientific evidence reported on the subject, was taken as a starting point," clarified the young researcher."
The Polytechnic specialist referred that according to a sampling conducted in central Mexico, mainly in the State of Mexico and Puebla, it was determined that some of the ethnobotanical uses of the manso plant focus on the treatment of body, lung, and kidney pains. Its healing properties are also used as a poultice on deep wounds.
The CBG doctoral student mentioned that there are also studies that report that the plant has some compounds such as terpenes, glucosides, and chromenes, which have antimicrobial activity against fungi such as Candida albicans.
Advised by Dr. María Antonia Cruz Hernández and Dr. Gildardo Rivera Sánchez, both scientists at the CBG, Ms. Navarrete Carriola applied various techniques to obtain the plant extract. However, she observed that the so-called Soxhlet system and ultrasound were the most effective in obtaining different compounds (secondary metabolites) contained in the hierba del manso, which have antimicrobial and anticancer activity.
Through the experiments, it was found that there are compounds with biological activity in the plant's leaves, however, the highest concentration of secondary metabolites is located in the root. Therefore, the studies focused on that part of the herb.
Among other metabolites, quercetin, hesperidin, and some phenolic acids such as chlorogenic and caffeic acids were found in the root. Although the set of secondary metabolites gives medicinal properties to the plant, the sesquiterpene called Xanthorrhizol is the only one that is found only in the root, has a higher presence than other compounds, and has anticancer biological activity.
An analytical technique is a method used to perform chemical analysis and determine the concentration of a specific compound or element. These laboratory studies are useful for identifying the structure, composition, and quantity of a substance with a high degree of accuracy.
To verify the presence of metabolites in the root of the manso plant, Ms. Navarrete Carriola applied analytical techniques such as Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) and Liquid Chromatography, both coupled with Mass Spectrometry.
There are reports of previous studies that have confirmed that the compound Xanthorrhizol, which was identified in the root of the manso plant, has cytotoxic activity against Kappa B cells (precursors of tumor cells). Additionally, this metabolite has antifungal activity.
"This scientific knowledge contributes to elucidating the ethnobotanical use of the plant against cancers, such as esophageal and skin cancer, as well as for treating diabetic foot," she warned. Therefore, in the next stage of the project, and as part of her doctoral thesis work, the young researcher will seek to generate semi-synthetic compounds derived from secondary metabolites. In this way, it will contribute to the care of this plant, which grows in pine and oak forest regions in the central zone of the country.
In addition to the conservation of this natural resource, the research will focus on enhancing the biological activity, through new molecules that are planned to be obtained from secondary metabolites, as well as exploring antibacterial and antiparasitic properties that will be evaluated through in vitro assays.
Due to the fact that scientific development cannot be conceived as an isolated project, Diana Navarrete carries out the synthesis of the compounds at the University of Texas in San Antonio. In addition, collaboration with other scientists will be established for the evaluation of in vitro assays.
"The obtaining of new semisynthetic compounds from secondary metabolites opens the way to other lines of research of this and other plants since it is necessary to generate new treatments for various diseases and above all, to seek that these have minimal side effects in humans."
Selección Gaceta Politécnica #161. 2023, April 30th. IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in spanish here
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