Skip Navigation



eCAM Advance Access published online on April 11, 2006
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nel015
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
3/3/317    most recent
nel015v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Samane, S.
Right arrow Articles by Haddad, P. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Samane, S.
Right arrow Articles by Haddad, P. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author (2006). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Received October 19, 2005
Accepted March 16, 2006

Original Article

Insulin-sensitizing and Anti-proliferative Effects of Argania spinosa Seed Extracts

Samira Samane 1, Josette Noël 2, Zoubida Charrouf 3, Hamid Amarouch 4, and Pierre Selim Haddad 5 *

1 Groupe d'étude des protéines membranaires, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Department of Pharmacology, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Institute of Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Department of Biology, Université Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
2 Groupe d'étude des protéines membranaires, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Department of Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
3 Department of Chemistry, Université Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco
4 Department of Biology, Université Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco
5 Groupe d'étude des protéines membranaires, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Department of Pharmacology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Department of Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Institute of Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, Université Laval, Québec, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Pierre Selim Haddad, E-mail: pierre.haddad{at}umontreal.ca


  Abstract

Argania spinosa is an evergreen tree endemic of southwestern Morocco. Many preparations have been used in traditional Moroccan medicine for centuries to treat several illnesses including diabetes. However, scientific evidence supporting these actions is lacking. Therefore, we prepared various extracts of the argan fruit, namely keel, cake and argan oil extracts, which we tested in the HTC hepatoma cell line for their potential to affect cellular insulin responses. Cell viability was measured by Trypan Blue exclusion and the response to insulin evaluated by the activation of the extracellular regulated kinase (ERK1/2), ERK kinase (MEK1/2) and protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) signaling components. None of the extracts demonstrated significant cytotoxic activity. Certain extracts demonstrated a bi-phasic effect on ERK1/2 activation; low doses of the extract slightly increased ERK1/2 activation in response to insulin, whereas higher doses completely abolished the response. In contrast, none of the extracts had any significant effect on MEK whereas only a cake saponin subfraction enhanced insulin-induced PKB/Akt activation. The specific action of argan oil extracts on ERK1/2 activation made us consider an anti-proliferative action. We have thus tested other transformed cell lines (HT-1080 and MSV-MDCK-INV cells) and found similar results. Inhibition of ERK1/2 activation was also associated with decreased DNA synthesis as evidenced by [3H]thymidine incorporation experiments. These results suggest that the products of Argania spinosa may provide a new therapeutic avenue against proliferative diseases.

Keywords: cancer; diabetes; MAPK; PKB; transformed cell lines.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
T.-T. Ou, C.-J. Wang, G.-U. Hung, C.-H. Wu, and H.-J. Lee
Aqueous Extract of Shi-Liu-Wei-Liu-Qi-Yin Induces G2/M Phase Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Bladder Carcinoma Cells via Fas and Mitochondrial Pathway
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., May 25, 2009; (2009) nep016v2.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
M. Bhat, S. K. Kothiwale, A. R. Tirmale, S. Y. Bhargava, and B. N. Joshi
Antidiabetic Properties of Azardiracta indica and Bougainvillea spectabilis: In Vivo Studies in Murine Diabetes Model
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., April 23, 2009; (2009) nep033v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
S. L. Badole, N. M. Patel, P. A. Thakurdesai, and S. L. Bodhankar
Interaction of Aqueous Extract of Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fr.) Quel-Champ. with Glyburide in Alloxan Induced Diabetic Mice
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., June 1, 2008; 5(2): 159 - 164.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Evid Based Complement Alternat MedHome page
G. Klein, J. Kim, K. Himmeldirk, Y. Cao, and X. Chen
Antidiabetes and Anti-obesity Activity of Lagerstroemia speciosa
Evid. Based Complement. Altern. Med., December 1, 2007; 4(4): 401 - 407.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.