Protective Effects of Aquilaria agallocha and Aquilaria malaccensis Edible Plant Extracts against Lung Cancer, Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress-In Silico and In Vitro Study

The family Thymelaeaceae, which includes huge evergreen trees that are sparsely distributed in tropical rainforests, includes the genus Aquilaria. Numerous medical conditions, including inflammation, cancer, and oxidative stress have been traditionally treated using Aquilaria agallocha and Aquilaria malaccensis. In this study, we evaluated in silico and biological activity with A. agallocha and A. malaccensis sample for more conformation. Raw 264.7 macrophage cells and HacaT cells were used, together with the MTT, ROS, NO, and wound healing assays, to investigate the possible cytotoxicity in A549 lung cancer. Thus, A. agallocha and A. malaccensis showed significant cytotoxicity against A549 cancer cells at 1000 mu g/mL. Furthermore, we observed an elevated ROS level in cancer cells. The wound healing assay showed cancer cell inhibition activity. While BCL-2 decreased in the intrinsic route, p53, Bax, Caspase 3, and Caspase 9 were elevated by A.A and A.M. Additionally, we have also conducted an in silico evaluation followed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, along with ADMET and biological activity prediction to further validate the experimental results. In normal cells, both samples showed less toxicity at 1000 mu g/mL and suppressed the LPS-treated NO and ROS levels against the inflammation. Additionally, A.A and A.M suppressed the pro-inflammatory gene expression of COX-2, iNOS, TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IL-8 in RAW264.7 cells. On the other hand, A.A and A.M extract effectively suppressed oxidative stress by increasing the antioxidative gene expression in H2O2-induced HaCat cells at 50 mu g/mL. This study revealed that the plant extracts from A. agallocha and A. malaccensis could exert a cytotoxic effect on lung adenocarcinoma cells through the activation of an intrinsic signaling pathway. Moreover, it could be a potential source of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer agents after consideration of in vivo and clinical studies.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the biological activity of agarwood and aloeswood samples in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that they exhibited significant cytotoxicity against lung adenocarcinoma cells and suppressed inflammation and oxidative stress. These plant extracts may have potential applications in the treatment of cancer and inflammation.