West Visayas State University

College of Medicine

IN VITRO CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS AGAINST HCT116 HUMAN COLON CARCINOMA

AND IN VITRO ANTIDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF BAGONGON (Telescopium
telescopium) EXTRACTS

Badillo, Krisha Marie

Digamo, Justine Dave
Fuerte, Mark Anthony
Jauhali, Princess Baby
Lequigan, Darlyn
Lim, Yjnah
Osental, Lucky Ian
Quidato, Pretzel
Sibug, Antonio
Vales, Rae Dawn
Background of the Study

Diabetes or diabetes mellitus describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has
high glucose content in their blood either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the
body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both (Medical News Today, 2016). Statistics from
WHO (2017) also reveals that diabetes prevalence has been rising more rapidly in middle- and low-
income countries.

Diabetes nowadays is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is still affecting more
and more people. According to a statistical data from World Health Organization conducted in 2017, in a
span of about 34 years - beginning from 1980 up to 2014 - the number of people with diabetes has
drastically increased from 108 million to 422 million. The statistical data also reveals that the global
prevalence of diabetes among adults over 18 years of age has risen from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014.
Moreover, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths in 2015 (WHO, 2017).

Locally, the Philippines is now considered to be a diabetes hotspot (Alviar, 2016). According to
the President of the Philippine Center for Diabetes Education Foundation (2016), 6 million Filipinos are
currently diagnosed to be diabetic. In fact, a 2008 survey alarmingly concluded that one out of every five
Filipinos have diabetes (“Philippine Diabetes Statistics”, 2015). Among the signs of this health problem is
hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia is known to be a hallmark of diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, and
prediabetes, and it is characterized by an abnormally high blood glucose level (Stoppler, 2016).
According to Mandal (2015), temporary episodes of hyperglycemia often do not cause symptoms; it may
rise well above normal for significant periods without resulting to any side effects. However, chronic
hyperglycemia, where the blood sugar is persistently higher than normal, can lead to a wide variety of
serious complications including nerve damage, eye problems, kidney damage, cardiovascular damage,
and problems with the feet and legs (Mandal, 2015).
 On the other hand, colon cancer poses a different problem. According to World Health
Organizatio in 2018, there were 1.8 million new cases of colorectal cancer worldwide – the third highest
in the number of new cases of cancer in 2018, accounting to over 880 thousand deaths due to the
disease.

According to Dr. Frederick Dy, the president of the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology (PSG),
colorectal cancer is the leading gastrointestinal cancer in the Philippines. Data from the PSG shows that
there are more than 3,000 new cases of colorectal cancer among Filipinos annually, with over 2,000
deaths due to the disease. Although the proportion of new cases of colorectal cancer among people
above 50 years of age has decreased, the incidence of colon cancer among the younger adults have
doubled in the last two decades (Laya-Zinampan, 2019).

Colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is a type of cancer
that affects the colon and the rectum (Brazier, 2018). It usually begins as a small, benign clumps of cells,
or polyps, that develop inside the colon. It is characterized by persistent changes in bowel habits
(diarrhea or constipation), blood in stool, abdominal discomfort, fatigue, and feelings of unsatisfied
bowel emptying. Certain risk factors are attributed to developing colorectal cancer. These include age,
family history, smoking and alcohol, obesity, diet high in processed meat and in fat, low-fiber diet, and
inherited genetic mutation (Bernardo, 2018).

Telescopium telescopium, commonly known as horn snail or telescope snail, and locally known
as Bagongon, is a benthic, marine, brackish water, and freshwater species distributed in the Indo-West
Pacific waters including Australia, Madagascar, Pakistan, Philippines, and etc. It has a conical shell which
spirals around. Commonly, Bagongon is considered to be a delicacy as well as a staple food for those
who are near the ocean. According to the Biology and Ecology of Pharmaceutical Marine Mollusks,
Telescopium telescopium provide a wide array of medicinal applications including antimicrobial,
antiangiogenic, hypotensive, and antioxidant activities.

According to the research of Purwaningsih and his members, Telescopium telescopium species
obtained from Sungai Pedada in South Sumatra, upon analysis of bioactive components, showed to
have presence of alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids and steroids.

Alkaloids, according to the team of Imperatore, which could be found in marine invertebrates,
including Telescopium telescopium, are indole, quinoline, pyrrol, pyrazine, and pyridoacridine.
The mode of action which backs up the property of the said compounds to be antidiabetic can
be linked to the mechanisms, common to all, are insulin secretion, carbohydrate digestion and
absorption, regeneration of pancreatic B cells and increased carbohydrate mobilization (Bharti et al.,
2017).
Different mechanisms also link to the different compounds as to how they can be related to
their anticancer properties. Alkaloids like vincristine and vinblastine exhibit anticancer properties by
inhibiting tubulin polymerization (Kuete, 2014) Meanwhile, compounds like saponins provided
mechanisms including the same tubulin polymerization as well as apoptosis (Man et al., 2010) by
stimulation of autophagic cell death, decrease in NO production, or cytoskeleton integrity disassembly
(Podolak et al., 2010) which also applies to tannins (Bawadi et al., 2005). Free radical scavenging activity
which relates to the protective effect against free radicals (Hazra et al., 2008) have also been reported in
all these compounds (Bharti et al., 2018)

Given these pieces of information, the researchers sought to determine its antidiabetic and
anticancer potentials as well as other compounds which could contribute to other gains in the field of
Medicine.

General Objective

This study aims to determine the antidiabetic and cytotoxic activity against HCT116 human colon
carcinoma of Bagongon (Telescopium telescopium) extracts to inhibit alpha amylase as well as its
cytotoxic activity against HCT116 (Human Colon) carcinoma.

Specific Objectives

Specifically, this study aims to determine the following:

1. Bioactive compounds present in the methanolic and hexanoic Bagongon (Telescopium

telescopium) meat extracts

2. Cytotoxic activity of methanolic and hexanoic Bagongon (Telescopium telescopium) meat

extracts with DMSO as a negative control and Doxorubricin as positive control by determining:
a. Cell lysis
b. Half maximal inhibitory concentration; and
c. Cell morphology

3. Antidiabetic activity of methanolic and hexanoic Bagongon (Telescopium telescopium) meat

extracts with DMSO as a negative control and acarbose as positive control by determining:
a. % alpha amylase inhibition; and
b. Half maximal inhibitory concentration

Significance of the Study

The results of this study may increase awareness on the pharmaceutical potential of Bagongon
(Telescopium telescopium) extracts which may be used by researchers in the manufacture of cost-
effective and readily available modalities for the treatment of diabetes and human colon carcinoma.
References

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Bharti, S. K., Krishnan, S., Kumar, A., & Kumar, A. (2018). Antidiabetic phytoconstituents and their mode
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Santhanam, R., & Gobinat, M. (2019). Title Biology and Ecology of Pharmaceutical Marine Mollusks
Biology and Ecology of Marine Life (Illustrated ed.). Boca Raton, Florida, US: CRC Press.