PHARMACOGNOSTIC AND PHYTO-PHYSICOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF Solanum xanthocarpum Serb. & Wendl.

Medicinal plants are the backbone of Traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda and Siddha. Solanum xanthcarpum (Solanaceae) (SX) is one of the most widely used medicinal herbs in Ayurvedic Pharmacopia. Me- dicinal plants have been of age-long remedy for human diseases because they contain components of therapeutic value. Plants are rich sources of ecologically developed secondary metabolites, which are potential remedies for different ailments. Kantakari (SX) of the family Solanaceae is one of the ‘dasamoola' and widely used drugs in Ayurveda. Dasamoola means a combination of ten plant roots together. It comprises roots of five big or major trees (Brihat panchmoola) and roots of five small trees or major herbs (Laghu panchmoola). Various studies indicated that SX contains steroidal glycoalkaloid solasodine, β-solamagrine and solasonine. The indigenous uses of plants also indicate anti-inflammatory, Antispermatogenic, Antidiabetic, Antiasthmatic, Molluscidal activity, useful in in- fantile atopical dermatitis, Cytoprotective, anticancer, insecticidal, insect repellent properties and diuretic activities. Therefore, the present investigation was intended to evaluate the preliminary phytochemical characters of this plant. The data and results of Phytochemical studies in the present study would facilitate discovery for the synthesis of more potent drugs. Keywords: Solanum xanthocarpum, Dasamoola, ethnobotanical uses, pharmacognosy, pharmacological activities,

α-Tomatine Inhibits Proliferation, Metastasis, Drug Resistance and Immune Infiltration Through the PI3K-AKT-MAPK Axis in Gastric Cancer

Background: α-Tomatine, a naturally existing steroidal glycoalkaloid in immature green tomatoes, had anticarcinogenic performances in various types of cancer cells. Within this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and potential molecular mechanism of α-tomatine in gastric cancer (GC) and the association with immune infiltration and prognosis.Methods: We used human GC cells MGC803, BGC823, SGC7901 and SGC7901/DDP to evaluate the cell functions of α-tomatine, and the molecular mechanisms of α-tomatine were investigated by qRT-PCR and western blotting analysis. Timer database was used to analyzed the correlation of targets repressed by α-tomatine, immune infiltration and prognosis. Results: Results showed that α-tomatine strongly inhibited PI3K-AKT and MAPK signaling pathways, thereby repressing the proliferation and metastasis of GC cells with different differentiations and cisplatin resistance. The inhibitory effect of α-tomatine on TWIST, Slug and PARP in SGC7901/DDP cells also suggested α-tomatine provided a feasible approach for confronting metastasis of clinical cisplatin resistant cases. Immunologically, α-tomatine could partially modulate the process and consequences of immune infiltration based on the correlation between 65 genes corresponding to interacting proteins and immune cell infiltration. α-Tomatine could improve prognosis of GC patients by inhibiting AKT3, VIM, FN1 and SNAI2, and at least partially counteract immune dysfunction triggered by macrophage infiltration. Conclusion: Strategies for treating GC should not be restricted to single, repetitive drug use, they should be predisposed to emerging, multi-target drugs. GC was highly susceptible to α-tomatine suggesting that α-tomatine could be used as an emerging and promising approach to confront GC.

An allelic variant of GAME9 determines its binding capacity with the GAME17 promoter in the regulation of steroidal glycoalkaloid biosynthesis in tomato

Steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are cholesterol-derived molecules found in the family Solanaceae. SGA content varies among different plant species and varieties. However, the genetic mechanisms regulating SGA content remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that genetic variation in GLYCOALKALOID METABOLISM 9 (GAME9) is responsible for the variation in SGA content in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). During a sequential analysis we found a 1 bp substitution in the AP2/ERF binding domain of GAME9. The 1 bp substitution in GAME9 was significantly associated with high SGA content and determined the binding capacity of GAME9 with the promoter of GAME17, a core SGA biosynthesis gene. The high-SGA GAME9 allele is mainly present in S. pimpinellifolium and S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme populations and encodes a protein that can bind the GAME17 promoter. In contrast, the low-SGA GAME9 allele is mainly present in the big-fruited varieties of S. lycopersicum and encodes a protein that shows weak binding to the GAME17 promoter. Our findings provide new insight into the regulation of SGA biosynthesis and the factors that affect the accumulation of SGA in tomato.