Molecular entities for the anti-melanoma effect of Solanum nigrum

Prognosis for advanced and metastatic melanoma remains poor despite low incidence rate and early diagnosis. A significant number of melanoma patients use complementary and alternative medicines during their normal treatments in anticipating improving therapeutic efficacy. <i>Solanum nigrum</i> shows effective inhibitory activity against melanoma cells compared to <i>Hedyotis diffusa</i>, <i>Scutellaria barbata</i>, and <i>Lobelia chinensis</i>. Therefore, it is of interest to explore the anti-melanoma entities of <i>S. nigrum</i>. Our data show that three unique melanoma-related gene targets (CYP3A4, GBA2 and PTK6) for two unique active ingredients (diosgenin and solanocapsine) present in <i>S. nigrum</i> have potential role.