Biotic elicitation at different feeding time in cell suspension cultures of Eurycoma longifolia Jack, a valuable medicinal plant, for enhancement of cytotoxic activity of bioactive compounds against human colon cancer cell line

• Published in: In vitro cellular & developmental biology. Plant Vol. 58; no. 1; pp. 15 - 27
• Main Authors: Kwan, Li See, Tan, Shu Ying, Hirata, Yoshiyuki, Chan, Lai-Keng, Nagaoka, Yasuo, Uesato, Shinichi, Boey, Peng Lim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Amino acids; Bioactive compounds; Biocompatibility; Biological activity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cell Biology; Cell culture; Cell growth; Cell proliferation; Cell walls; Chain branching; Chitin; Colon; Colon cancer; Colorectal cancer; Culture; Cytotoxicity; Developmental Biology; Ergosterol; Glucan; Glycopeptides; Herbal medicine; Leukemia; Life Sciences; Malaria; Medicinal plants; Metabolites; Pectin; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant extracts; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Sciences; Subcultures; Suspension culture; Toxicity; Tumor cell lines; Valine; Yeast; Yeasts; Malaysia; Singapore; Biotic elicitors; Colon cancer cell line; Cytotoxic activity; Tongkat Ali cell culture
• ISSN: 1054-5476; 1475-2689
• DOI: 10.1007/s11627-021-10189-x

The root extract of Eurycoma longifolia Jack has been shown to be effective against different type of cancers. Present study was carried out to study the effect of three biotic elicitors, yeast extract, pectin, and valine, on the cytotoxicity activity of the bioactive compounds produced in the cell suspension culture of E. longifolia against human colon cancer cell lines. Yeast extract consists of vitamin B complex, chitin, N-acetyl-glucosamin, β-glucan, glycopeptide, and ergosterol, while pectin contains cell wall components. Yeast extract and pectin, along with the branched chain amino acid valine, were evaluated as biotic elicitors to trigger the production of plant defense–related compounds. The different stages of cell growth influenced the production of the bioactive compounds; hence the administration of the elicitors at different stage of cell growth is vital for enhancement of their production. The results showed that all three biotic elicitors were effective in enhancing cytotoxic activity similar to that of root extract from the mature plant against human colon cancer cell line, HCT116, without affecting its cell growth. Crude extract derived from cells elicited with 2.0 g L −1 pectin supplemented on the 17 th d showed good inhibition of HCT116 cell proliferation with IC 50 of 19.4 μg mL −1 . Hence, cell suspension culture of E. longifolia with elicitation is an alternative time-saving tool for production of valuable anti-cancer compounds and the conservation of this valuable plant due to indiscriminate harvesting from its natural habitat.