Cytotoxic and Anti-Inflammatory Evaluation of Thai Medicinal Plants from Kampramong’s Anticancer Remedy Against Upper Respiratory Tract Malignancies

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Ophelia

Field cancerization in the upper respiratory tract (URT) drives cancer recurrence, motivating the search for alternative agents. This study assessed Thai ethnobotanical ingredients from Kampramong’s anticancer remedies against URT malignancies. Thirty-one ethanolic extracts were tested for cytotoxicity on six URT cancer cell lines and two non-cancerous controls using SRB assay, with selectivity indices and IC50 ratios. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, flavonoid content, multivariate correlations, and molecular docking were also evaluated to connect bioactive compounds with target mechanisms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Article Cytotoxic and Anti-Inflammatory Evaluation of Thai Medicinal Plants from Kampramong’s Anticancer Remedy Against Upper Respiratory Tract Malignancies Nanatphong Paje 1, Arunporn Itharat 2,3,*, Waipoj Chanvimalueng 4, Vilailak Tiyao 3, Weerachai Pipatrattanaseree 5, Sunita Makchuchit 3, Pranporn Kuropakornpong 3 and Neal M. Davies 6 Academic Editor: Weiwei Han Received: 8 July 2026 Revised: 29 July 2026 Accepted: 7 August 2026 Published: 13 August 2026 Copyright: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 Graduate School, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University, Klong Luang 12120, Pathum Thani, Thailand; [nanatphongpaje@hotmail.com](nanatphongpaje@hotmail.com) 2 Department of Applied Thai Traditional Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University, Klong Luang 12120, Pathum Thani, Thailand 3 Center of Excellence in Applied Thai Traditional Medicine Research (CEATMR), Thammasat University, Klong Luang 12120, Pathum Thani, Thailand; [meyamesaya@gmail.com](meyamesaya@gmail.com) (V.T.); [msunita_359@hotmail.com](msunita_359@hotmail.com) (S.M.); [pranporn.kur@gmail.com](pranporn.kur@gmail.com) (P.K.) 4 Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Thammasat University, Klong Luang 12120, Pathum Thani, Thailand; [drwaipoj@gmail.com](drwaipoj@gmail.com) 5 Regional Medical Sciences Center 12 Songkhla, Ministry of Public Health, Mueang Songkhla 90100, Songkhla, Thailand; [weerachai.dmsc@gmail.com](weerachai.dmsc@gmail.com) 6 Katz Group-Rexall Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada; [ndavies@ualberta.ca](ndavies@ualberta.ca) * Correspondence: [iarunporn@yahoo.com](iarunporn@yahoo.com) Abstract Field cancerization in the upper respiratory tract (URT) heavily drives cancer recurrence. The present study evaluated Thai ethnobotanical ingredients from Kampramong’s anticancer remedies as alternative agents for URT cancer control. Thirty-one ethanolic extracts were screened for cytotoxicity against six URT malignant cell lines (HK1, KB, HONE-1, NPC38, NPC43, and HEp2) and two non-cancerous controls (NP460 and HaCaT) using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. The selectivity index or IC 50 ratio of normal cells/cancer cells was also determined for selective cytotoxicity of extracts and compounds. Antiinflammatory activity was measured using the nitric oxide (NO) reduction assay. Antioxidant capacity was measured using the DPPH radical scavenging assay. Total flavonoid content (TFC) was measured due to the main risk reduction factor. Multivariate analyses (Hierarchical Cluster Analysis; HCA and Principal Component Analysis; PCA) were used for the relationship of flavonoids, NO inhibition drive to cytotoxicity. The best plant extractsand their cytotoxic compounds were also predicted to have their target molecular mechanisms by molecular docking. HCA identified Caesalpinia sappan, Coscinium fenestratum, and Tectona grandis as exhibiting potent cytotoxicity against all malignant cells, with C. sappan being the most potent. PCA revealed that flavonoid content and nitric oxide inhibition were the critical factors driving cytotoxicity (factor load 71.93%) . Molecular docking of C. sappan compounds, brazilin and sappanchalcone, showed high binding energies with multiple core target proteins (MAPK1, MAPK3, SRC, AKT1, and GRB2), indicating a synergistic multi-compound, multi-target mechanism, representing a hypothesis for future mechanistic validation. Kampramong’s ethnobotanical remedies, particularly C. sappan, are promising candidates for URT malignancy treatment and field cancerization prevention, offering valuable data for future drug development. Keywords: Caesalpinia sappan; Kampramong’s anticancer remedies; field cancerization; upper respiratory

FAQs

What is the study’s primary aim regarding URT cancers?

To evaluate Thai ethnobotanical ingredients from Kampramong’s anticancer remedies as alternative agents for controlling upper respiratory tract malignancies and addressing field cancerization.

How was cytotoxicity measured in the experiments?

Cytotoxicity of 31 ethanolic extracts was measured against URT malignant cell lines and non-cancer controls using the sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay, with IC50 ratios/selectivity indices.

Which compounds and targets were highlighted by molecular docking?

Compounds from Caesalpinia sappan, including brazilin and sappanchalcone, showed high binding energies with multiple core target proteins such as MAPK1, MAPK3, SRC, AKT1, and GRB2.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Ophelia