Effect of Protoberberine-Rich Fraction of <i>Chelidonium majus</i> L. on Endometriosis Regression
Alicja Warowicka,
Badr Qasem,
Anna Dera-Szymanowska,
Maria Wołuń-Cholewa,
Patryk Florczak,
Nikodem Horst,
Marta Napierała,
Krzysztof Szymanowski,
Łukasz Popenda,
Grażyna Bartkowiak,
Ewa Florek,
Anna Goździcka-Józefiak,
Piotr Młynarz
Affiliations
Alicja Warowicka
Department of Animal Physiology and Development, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 61614 Poznań, Poland
Badr Qasem
Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50370 Wrocław, Poland
Anna Dera-Szymanowska
Department of Perinatology and Gynecology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, 60535 Poznań, Poland
Maria Wołuń-Cholewa
Chair and Department of Cell Biology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, 60806 Poznań, Poland
Patryk Florczak
NanoBioMedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 61614 Poznań, Poland
Nikodem Horst
Department of General and Colorectal Surgery, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, 61285 Poznań, Poland
Marta Napierała
Laboratory of Environmental Research, Department of Toxicology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences,60631 Poznań, Poland
Krzysztof Szymanowski
Department of Medical Education, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, 60806 Poznań, Poland
Łukasz Popenda
NanoBioMedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 61614 Poznań, Poland
Grażyna Bartkowiak
NanoBioMedical Centre, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 61614 Poznań, Poland
Ewa Florek
Laboratory of Environmental Research, Department of Toxicology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences,60631 Poznań, Poland
Anna Goździcka-Józefiak
Molecular Virology Research Unit, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, 61614 Poznań, Poland
Piotr Młynarz
Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50370 Wrocław, Poland
Endometriosis is a gynecological disease defined by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. To date, the effective treatment of this disease is still based on invasive surgery or laparoscopy. Chelidonium majus L. (Papaveraceae) belongs to medicinal, latex-bearing plants. Extracts from the plant are a rich source of pharmacologically active agents. Protoberberine compounds derived from C. majus possess anticancer and antiproliferative activities. In the present study of a rat model of endometriosis, we investigated the influence of the plant protoberberine-rich fraction (BBR) obtained from the medicinal plant C. majus on the development of endometriosis. To understand of BBR therapeutic potential for endometriosis, metabolomics has been applied to study. BBR was prepared from an ethanolic extract of dry plants C. majus. Rats (n = 16) with confirmed endometriosis were treated with BBR administered orally (1 g/kg) for 14 days. Blood serum samples were collected from all of the animals and metabolites were studied using the NMR method. The metabolomic pattern was compared before and after the protoberberine treatment. The performed analysis showed significant changes in the concentrations of metabolites that are involved in energy homeostasis, including glucose, glutamine, and lactate. Histopathological studies showed no recurrence of endometriosis loci after treatment with BBR. The results of the study found that BBR treatment prevents the recurrence of endometriosis in rats. Moreover, metabolomics profiling can be applied to better understand the mechanisms of action of these protoberberine secondary plant metabolites. Our findings provide new insights into the pharmaceutical activity of natural protoberberine plant compounds.
