{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:31:51Z","timestamp":1788913911942,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772150400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmaceuticals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide, with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) being a highly aggressive subtype characterized by early recurrence, limited targeted therapies, and poor clinical outcomes. Despite advances in chemotherapy, therapeutic resistance remains a major challenge, underscoring the need for alternative therapeutic approaches. Natural products continue to serve as important sources of bioactive compounds for cancer drug discovery. Tiliacora triandra, a Thai medicinal plant traditionally used to manage inflammatory and metabolic disorders, has not been extensively investigated for its potential against TNBC. In this study, we evaluated the anti-cancer effects of T. triandra extracts and its major flavonoid constituent, pectolinarigenin, in triple-negative breast cancer, MDA-MB-231 cells. Methods: An 80% ethanolic root extract was sequentially partitioned into hexane, dichloromethane, and ethyl acetate fractions. High-performance liquid chromatography identified pectolinarigenin as a predominant component of the dichloromethane fraction (TT-DCM), with a quantified content of 14.24 \u00b1 2.32 mg\/g extract. The anti-cancer effect of TT-DCM and pectolinarigenin on MDA-MB-231 cells were investigated using colony formation, cell cycle analysis, PI\/Annexin V staining, and Western blot analysis. Results: Both TT-DCM and pectolinarigenin significantly reduced MDA-MB-231 cell viability and clonogenic growth. Treatment resulted in G0\/G1 phase accumulation, accompanied by decreased expression of cyclin D1, CDK2, and CDK4. Apoptotic induction was observed, as evidenced by lower expression levels of Bcl-xL, Bcl-2, and surviving proteins, together with increased caspase-9 and caspase-3 activities. Additionally, TT-DCM and pectolinarigenin were associated with reduced phosphorylation of ERK1\/2, JNK1\/2, and p38 MAPKs. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings demonstrate that pectolinarigenin derived from T. triandra exerts potent anti-cancer activity in MDA-MB-231 TNBC cells through coordinated modulation of cell cycle progression, apoptotic signaling, and MAPK pathway activity. Further studies are warranted to validate these effects in additional TNBC models.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ph19030384","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T17:05:16Z","timestamp":1772211916000},"page":"384","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Pectolinarigenin from Tiliacora triandra Exhibits Potent Anticancer Activity in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells Through Cell Cycle Arrest, Apoptosis, and MAPK Signaling Inhibition"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6249-4497","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Punnida","family":"Arjsri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6340-9653","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Warathit","family":"Semmarath","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand"},{"name":"One Health Research Center, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0260-7215","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kamonwan","family":"Srisawad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"},{"name":"Anticarcinogenesis and Apoptosis Research Cluster, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Intranee","family":"Intanil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-1716-9717","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pilaiporn","family":"Thippraphan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8732-8911","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pornngarm","family":"Dejkriengkraikul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"},{"name":"Anticarcinogenesis and Apoptosis Research Cluster, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"},{"name":"Center for Research and Development of Natural Products for Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"287","article-title":"Global burden of female breast cancer: New estimates in 2022, temporal trend and future projections up to 2050 based on the latest release from GLOBOCAN","volume":"5","author":"Zhang","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. 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