Hirsutine, an indole alkaloid of Uncaria rhynchophylla, exhibits anti-cancer activity. Hirsutine induces apoptosis and is a potent Dengue virus inhibitor exhibiting low cytotoxicity[1][2][3].

Hirsutine remarkably reduces the viability of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner with IC50 values of 447.79 and 179.06 μM, respectively. In the MDA-MB-231 cells, Hirsutine induces apoptosis and depolarization of MMP, releases Cyt C from mitochondria, and activates caspase 9 and caspase 3[2].

Hirsutine induces mPTP-dependent apoptosis through ROCK1/PTEN/PI3K/GSK3β pathway in human lung cancer cells[3].

[1]. Hishiki T, et al. Hirsutine, an Indole Alkaloid of Uncaria rhynchophylla, Inhibits Late Step in Dengue Virus Lifecycle. Front Microbiol. 2017 Aug 30;8:1674. [2]. Huang QW, et al. [Hirsutine induces apoptosis of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells through mitochondrial pathway]. Sheng Li Xue Bao. 2018 Feb 25;70(1):40-46. [3]. Zhang R, et al. Hirsutine induces mPTP-dependent apoptosis through ROCK1/PTEN/PI3K/GSK3β pathway in human lung cancer cells. Cell Death Dis. 2018 May 22;9(6):598.