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Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men in the United States. Mounting evidences suggest that in the pathophysiology of prostate cancer epigenetic modifications play a considerable role. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) have strong crosstalk with prostate cancer progression as they regulate various genes meant for tumour suppression. HDACs are emerging as striking molecular targets for anticancer drugs and therapy as their aberrant expression has been implicated in several cancers. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), the small molecules interfering HDACs are the propitious chemotherapeutic agents as they tune the altered acetylation homeostasis for attenuating disease signalling. More than 20 HDACi have entered into the clinical trials and 4 have crossed the journey by gaining FDA approval for treating distinct haematological malignancies including multiple myeloma. Despite the therapeutic benefits, the synthetic HDACi cause detrimental side effects like atrial fibrillation, raising concerns regarding their applicability. Taking these facts into consideration the current article focused on plant-derived HDAC inhibitor Apigenin and its marvelous role in prostate cancer therapy. Moreover, the article sheds light on Apigenin induced apoptosis in various prostate cancer models. The defined inhibitor provokes apoptotic signaling in these models by multiple mechanisms like restraining HDACs, declining the levels of antiapoptotic proteins. Importantly, Apigenin hampers NF-κB signalling and down-modulates its regulated gene products for bringing therapeutic effect. Furthermore, Apigenin shows synergistic effect in combinatorial therapy and induces apoptosis even in prostate cancer models resistant to conventional therapeutic regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baikal skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) is an important medicinal plant with proven bioactivity. Commercially available products in the United States containing extracts or derivatives from this plant species have been shown to lack consistency of chemical composition and bioactivity. In the United States, these issues could be solved through domestic production of skullcap. The hypothesis of this study was that Baikal skullcap grown in the Mississippi climate would accumulate sufficient bioactive flavonoids, baicalin, and baicalein in the roots to justify domestic production, and that shoots of these plants might also contain the flavonoids of interest. A replicated field experiment was conducted at four locations in Mississippi (Beaumont, Crystal Springs, Stoneville, and Verona) to test the hypothesis. The concentration of the main flavonoid, baicalin, in the roots ranged from 8.1% to 15.6%, whereas the concentration of baicalein varied from 0.2% to 1.2%. The flavonoid concentrations in the roots were similar to that of commercially available skullcap roots, and to concentrations reported in the literature. Chrysin was detected in the roots from one location. Furthermore, the flavonoids apigenin, baicalein, baicalin, chrysin, and scutellarein were detected and quantified in the skullcap shoots. Overall, yields of dry roots tended to increase from southern to northern locations. This is the first report on flavonoid accumulation in Baikal skullcap roots and shoots grown in the United States. The results from this study are promising and suggest that I) Baikal skullcap grown in Mississippi accumulates similar amounts of baicalein and baicalin to skullcap grown in other regions and can provide up to 128 kg·ha-1 of baicalin and up to 2.32 kg·ha-2 of baicalein; 2) flavonoid concentration in Baikal skullcap roots and shoots, yields, and mineral concentration of roots might depend on climatic and growing conditions; and 3) Baikal skullcap could be developed as a high-value crop for Mississippi and possibly other regions of the United States. Further research is needed on skullcap production methods and economic feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]