Morné Mortimer’s research while affiliated with Stellenbosch University and other places

The genus Cyclopia, an indigenous South African fynbos plant used to prepare honeybush tea, contains phytoestrogenic compounds. An extract from C. subternata, SM6Met, displays three desirable estrogenic attributes for future development of a phytoestrogenic nutraceuti-cal, namely, ERα antagonism, ERβ agonism, and also antagonism of E 2-induced breast cancer cell proliferation. Activity-guided fractionation of SM6Met was used in an attempt to isolate and identify compounds conferring the desirable estrogenic profile to SM6Met. Initial liquid-liquid fractionation of SM6Met yielded a polar fraction (PF) and a non-polar fraction (NPF), with the desirable estrogenic attributes retained in the NPF. Subsequent high performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC) fractionation of the NPF yielded three fractions (F1-F3). Interestingly, the fractions revealed separation of the previously demonstrated positive estrogenic attributes of the NPF into separate fractions, with F1 and F2 acting as ERα antagonists, only F2 inducing antagonism of E 2-induced breast cancer cell proliferation and only F3 retaining robust ERβ agonist activity. In terms of major polyphe-nols, quantitative HPLC and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/ MS) indicated that HPCCC fractionation resulted in a divergence of polyphenolic classes, with F1 emerging as the dihydrochalcone-rich fraction and F2 as the flavanone-and benzo-phenone-rich fraction, while the xanthones, flavones and phenolic acids were retained in F3. F3 was re-engineered into F3R by reassembling the major polyphenols identified in the fraction. F3R could, however, not replicate the effect of F3. In conclusion, although activity-guided fractionation results suggest that retention of all the desirable estrogenic attributes of the original SM6Met in one fraction is not an attainable goal, fractionation is a useful tool to enhance specific desirable estrogenic attributes.

Hormone replacement therapy associated risks, and the concomitant reluctance of usage, has instigated the search for new generations of estrogen analogues that would maintain estrogen benefits without associated risks. Furthermore, if these analogues display chemo-preventative properties in breast and endometrial tissues it would be of great value. Both the selective estrogen receptor modulators as well as the selective estrogen receptor subtype modulators have been proposed as estrogen analogues with improved risk profiles. Phytoestrogen containing extracts of Cyclopia, an indigenous South African fynbos plant used to prepare Honeybush tea may serve as a source of new estrogen analogues. In this study three extracts, P104, SM6Met, and cup-of-tea, from two species of Cyclopia, C. genistoides and C. subternata, were evaluated for ER subtype specific agonism and antagonism both in transactivation and transrepression. For transactivation, the Cyclopia extracts displayed ERα antagonism and ERβ agonism when ER subtypes were expressed separately, however, when co-expressed only agonism was uniformly observed. In contrast, for transrepression, this uniform behavior was lost, with some extracts (P104) displaying uniform agonism, while others (SM6Met) displayed antagonism when subtypes were expressed separately and agonism when co-expressed. In addition, breast cancer cell proliferation assays indicate that extracts antagonize cell proliferation in the presence of estrogen at lower concentrations than that required for proliferation. Furthermore, lack of uterine growth and delayed vaginal opening in an immature rat uterotrophic model validates the ERα antagonism of extracts observed in vitro and supports the potential of the Cyclopia extracts as a source of estrogen analogues with a reduced risk profile.