Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, October 6 University, Giza 12585, Egypt.
Pharmacology Unit, Cancer Biology Department, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Kasr Al Eini Street, Fom El Khalig, Cairo 11796, Egypt.
Molecules. 2022 Apr 12;27(8):2480. doi: 10.3390/molecules27082480.
Reusing food waste is becoming popular in pharmaceutical industries. Watermelon () rind is commonly discarded as a major solid waste. Here, the in vitro cytotoxic potential of watermelon rind extracts was screened against a panel of human cancer cell lines. Cell cycle analysis was used to determine the induction of cell death, whereas annexin V-FITC binding, caspase-3, BAX, and BCL-2 mRNA expression levels were used to determine the degree of apoptosis. VEGF-promoting angiogenesis and cell migration were also evaluated. Moreover, the identification of phytoconstituents in the rind extract was achieved using UPLC/T-TOF-MS/MS, and a total of 45 bioactive compounds were detected, including phenolic acids, flavonoids aglycones, and their glycoside derivatives. The tested watermelon rind extracts suppressed cell proliferation in seven cancer cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner. The cytotoxicity of the rind aqueous extract (RAE) was higher compared with that of the other extracts. In addition to a substantial inhibitory effect on cell migration, the RAE triggered apoptosis in HCT116 and Hep2 cells by driving the accumulation of cells in the S phase and elevating the activity of caspase-3 and the BAX/BCL-2 ratio. Thus, a complete phytochemical and cytotoxic investigation of the rind extract may identify its potential potency as an anticancer agent.
将食物废料再利用在制药行业变得越来越流行。西瓜（）皮通常作为主要的固体废物被丢弃。在这里，我们对西瓜皮提取物的体外细胞毒性潜力进行了筛选，以评估其对一系列人类癌细胞系的影响。我们使用细胞周期分析来确定细胞死亡的诱导，同时使用 Annexin V-FITC 结合、caspase-3、BAX 和 BCL-2 mRNA 表达水平来确定细胞凋亡的程度。我们还评估了 VEGF 促进血管生成和细胞迁移的能力。此外，我们使用 UPLC/T-TOF-MS/MS 鉴定了果皮提取物中的植物成分，共检测到 45 种生物活性化合物，包括酚酸、类黄酮苷元及其糖苷衍生物。测试的西瓜皮提取物以浓度依赖的方式抑制了七种癌细胞系的增殖。果皮水提物（RAE）的细胞毒性高于其他提取物。除了对细胞迁移有显著的抑制作用外，RAE 通过诱导 HCT116 和 Hep2 细胞中 S 期细胞的积累和升高 caspase-3 活性以及 BAX/BCL-2 比值，引发了细胞凋亡。因此，对果皮提取物进行全面的植物化学和细胞毒性研究可能有助于确定其作为抗癌剂的潜在功效。
