Chukwumaobim DO Nwokwu¹ , Kurukulasuriya N Fernando², Miranda D Pacheco³, Austin J Fearday³, Samantha J Louis⁴, Malik H Walker⁴, Yuliet Martinez⁴, Kent M Nayga⁴, Daniel A Cardoza⁴, Aaliyah A Rolle⁵

¹Department of Chemistry and Physics, Florida Gulf Coast University,; ²Dunbar High School, Fort Myers,; ³Department of Bioengineering,; ⁴Department of Biological Sciences,; ⁵Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida, USA.

For correspondence:-  Chukwumaobim Nwokwu   Email: cnwokwu@fgcu.edu   Tel:+1-239-590-1471

Received: 1 March 2026        Accepted: 12 June 2026        Published: 29 June 2026

Citation: Nwokwu CD, Fernando KN, Pacheco MD, Fearday AJ, Louis SJ, Walker MH, et al. Anticancer screening and GC-MS metabolite profiling of endemic southwest Florida flora: Evaluating the therapeutic potential of three tropical species against Glioblastoma Multiforme. Trop J Pharm Res 2026; 25(6):745-760 doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/tjpr.v25i6.1

© 2026 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To examine the cytotoxic effects of crude polar extracts from Byrsonima lucida, Pinus elliottii, and Ulmus alata against LN-229 glioblastoma cells. Methods: Cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT assay, while differential gene and protein expression of apoptosis-related markers were assessed by RT-qPCR and ELISA, respectively. Phytochemical constituents were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Results: Byrsonima lucida demonstrated the strongest effects, reducing cell viability to 19 % at 48 h, with 4-fold upregulation of CASP3 and 278-fold increase in BAX expression. Pinus elliottii suppressed CASP3 by 23-fold despite inducing cytotoxicity mediated by 32-fold BAX upregulation, suggesting caspase-independent death mechanisms. ELISA confirmed 33 % CASP3 upregulation in B. lucida-treated cells and 58 % suppression in P. elliottii-treated cells. Ulmus alata showed minimal cytotoxicity against LN-229 cells but accelerated wound closure in healthy human astrocytes. GC-MS identified phytochemical profiles distinct to each species, including aziridine derivatives in B. lucida and topotecan-like compounds in U. alata. Conclusion: B. lucida and P. elliottii extracts induce glioblastoma cell death through distinct mechanisms, caspase-dependent apoptosis and caspase-independent pathways, respectively, while U. alata shows potential for tissue repair applications

Keywords: Anticancer, Apoptosis, Byrsonima lucida, Drug discovery, Pharmacognosy, Glioblastoma multiforme, Natural products, Tropical plants

Impact Factor
Thompson Reuters (ISI): 0.6 (2023)
H-5 index (Google Scholar): 49 (2023)