MEDICINAL PLANTS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOMEDICINE 

Minerva Biotecnologica 2005 September;17(3):175-81

Copyright © 2006 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Antiproliferative activity of Ailanthus excelsa (Roxb)

Lampronti I. ¹, Rashed K. ², Gambari R. ^{1, 3}, Said A. ²

¹ Biotechnology Center, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; ² National Research Center, Department of Pharmacognosy, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt; ³ ER-GenTech, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

Full text temporaneamente non disponibile on-line. Contattaci

Aim. Medicinal plants and biologically active compounds derived from natural sources are of great interest as potential new drugs for different category of diseases.
Methods. We analyzed 2 distinct extracts derived from leaves of Ailanthus excelsa (Roxb), showing that only one extract (chloroform fraction) is able to inhibit the in vitro proliferation of human leukemic K562 cells.
Results. This effect was partially associated to activation of erythroid differentiation of K562 cells. Further-more, the plant extracts have been analyzed to identify chemical components by gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry analysis; by this procedure we identified hydrocarbons, terpenes, carotenoids, naphtalenes and sterols in the CHCl3 extract of Ailanthus excelsa.
Conclusion. This approach would allow the indentification of single bioactive molecules.