Abstract:
A positive screening system using a mutant strain of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to screen for bioactive compounds was used in this study. The principle of the assay based on one of the roles of intracellular Ca2+ signal in yeast in controlling of cellcycle progression at G2-M phase. When growing the mutant yeast cells in medium with high concentration of Ca2+, the high Ca2+ signal causes the mutant yeast cells (as indicator cells) to arrest at G2 phase, resulting in no growth phenotype. However, if there is a Ca2+ signal inhibitor as a small molecule presence in the crude plant extracts, the yeast cells can be able to grow normally in medium with high Ca2+ concentration. Two positive crude ethanol extracts were obtained from the screens of 141 plants in Thailand using the Δzds1 yeast mutant growth assay. There were Andrographis paniculata (APA) and Boesenbergia pandurata (BPA). Only the latter was chosen for further study. Biological activities in fractions from column chromatography of crude extract of B. pandurata were monitored by the yeast based assay. After purification of the positive fractions, three pure compounds were obtained: pinostrobin, alpinetin and pinocembrin chalcone. Among them, pinostrobin showed the strongest activity in the assay. Inhibition of the calcium signaling pathway by pinostrobin was confirmed by flow cytometry profile and bud morphology studies. Pinostrobin at 1mM could inhibit the hyperactivation of Ca2+ caused abnormal cell morphology and the G2-M cell cycle delay. Regarding to the search for molecule that pinostrobin target at in the Ca2+ signaling pathway, it was found that not the intracellular Ca2+, Calcineurin, Mpk1 nor Mck1.