<div><strong>Background:</strong> Poekilocerus pictus (Fabricius 1771), a painted grasshopper, sequesters cardenolides from its food plant, the Apple of Sodom or Aak, <em>Calotropis procera</em> (Aiton) W.T. Aiton&nbsp; (Family-<em>Asclepiadaceae</em>). In our present investigation, we were able to isolate <em>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> KRK6 from the intestine of <em>Poekilocerus</em> <em>pictus</em> responsible for the biotransformation of cardenolides.&nbsp;</div>

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<div><strong>Methods:</strong><em> Pseudomonas aeruginosa</em> KRK6 was grown in methanolic extracts of Calotropis procera&nbsp; and the modified cardenolides were detected by Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LCMS) and also used to induce apoptosis in cancer cells (MCF-7 cells and T-47 D).&nbsp;<br />
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<strong>Result:</strong> The modified cardenolides CPMEP6 was found to induce apoptosis in human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF cells-IC50 =6.31&plusmn;0.4 &micro;g/mL, T-47D cells-IC50 = 10.1&plusmn;1.02 &micro;g/mL). Phosphatidylserine exposure and DNA fragmentation suggested apoptosis in treated cancer cells. CPMEP6 induced apoptosis in cancer cells via the mitochondrial pathway by down-regulating BCL-2 protein expression and up-regulating BAX protein expression.</div>


Biotransformation of Cardenolides from Calotropis procera and Their Cytotoxic Potential against Human Mammary Gland Carcinoma Cells