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Micropropagation, phytochemical, in vitro anticancer and molecular docking studies on the rare endangered plant Thymus decussatus

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Last updated: 01 Jan 2025

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Abstract

The axenic culture of Thymus decussatus, a rare wild species found only above 1500 m altitude in the St. Katherine Protectorate, Egypt, was established. Full MS (Murashige and Skoog medium) medium supplemented with 0.35 mg/l benzyladenine (BA) and 0.2 mg/l kinetin (Kin) was found to be optimal for micropropagation and acclimatization. Hexane extract showed the most significant cytotoxic effects against hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells with an IC50 of 12 ± 0.69 μg/ml and selectivity over normal hepatocytes (THLE2 IC50=38.57 ± 1.65 μg/ml). High-performance liquid chromatography identified the main components as flavonoids and phenolic acids, with rosmarinic acid being the most abundant (23.7 μg/g dry weight). The combination of hexane extract with sorafenib had a synergistic effect, decreasing the IC50 from 9.289 ± 0.51 to 2.274 ± 0.13 μg/ml. In contrast, an antagonistic effect was seen with doxorubicin, increasing its IC50 from 0.716 ± 0.04 μg/ml to 6.499 ± 0.36 μg/ml. The hexane extract exhibited S-phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction. Analysis of gene expression profiles showed upregulation of p53 and MDR1 genes. Molecular docking analysis revealed that the flavonoids quercetin, chlorogenic acid, apigenin, and rosmarinic acid have high-affinity binding to pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins, suggesting possible mechanisms of action. In conclusion, this work supports conserving this rare species and investigating its phytochemicals as potential adjuvants to improve hepatocellular carcinoma treatment.

DOI

10.21608/ejbo.2024.234993.2478

Keywords

Thymus decussatus, Axenic culture, micro-propagation, Sorafenib, rosmarinic acid

Authors

First Name

islam

Last Name

Aboalez

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

industrial Biotechnology Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, Sadat University, Egypt

Email

islamnasef300@gmail.com

City

ashmoon

Orcid

-

First Name

Ashraf

Last Name

El-baz

MiddleName

farag

Affiliation

industrial Biotechnology Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, Sadat University, Egypt

Email

ashraffarage@gmail.com

City

Cairo

Orcid

0000-0001-6723-7502

First Name

Dalia

Last Name

Mohammed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Industrial Biotechnology Departement, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, Sadat University, Egypt

Email

daliadiaa.118@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

doaa

Last Name

mohammed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Industrial Biotechnology Departement, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, Sadat University, Egypt

Email

doaadiaa.148@gmail.com

City

Sadat

Orcid

-

First Name

Ahmed

Last Name

Abdel-Maksoud

MiddleName

ibrahim

Affiliation

Industrial Biotechnology Departement, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, Sadat University, Egypt

Email

aiaky79@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

0000-0001-9558-0412

Volume

64

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

48675

Issue Date

2024-09-01

Receive Date

2023-09-07

Publish Date

2024-09-01

Page Start

29

Page End

39

Print ISSN

0375-9237

Online ISSN

2357-0350

Link

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/article_367070.html

Detail API

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=367070

Order

3

Type

Regular issue (Original Article)

Type Code

111

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Botany

Publication Link

https://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Micropropagation, phytochemical, in vitro anticancer and molecular docking studies on the rare endangered plant Thymus decussatus

Details

Type

Article

Created At

30 Dec 2024