Cereus jamacaru D.C. Hydroalcoholic Extract Promotes Anti-Cytotoxic and Antitumor Activity

Abstract

Cereus jamacaru D.C. (mandacaru) is a cactus used as food and in the traditional medicine. In the present study, hydroalcoholic extract of C. jamacaru was evaluated for its chemical composition, antioxidant activity, cytotoxic and anti-cytotoxic effects in human lymphocytes and sarcoma 180 cells in vitro by MTT assay and antitumoral, mutagenic and cytotoxic effects on mice sarcoma-induced in vivo. Phytochemical characterization showed positive reactions for coumarin, flavanol and tyramine and total flavonoid content of 0.51 µg/mL. C. jamacaru showed antioxidant activity following DPPH (EC50 = 427.74 µg/mL), ABTS (EC50 = 270.57 µg/mL) and Fe2+ chelating ions assays (EC50 = 41.18 µg/mL). C. jamacaru induced significant decrease of sarcoma 180 viability at 24 h and 48 h of treatment, did not induce cytotoxicity in human lymphocytes and inhibits the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in vitro. Following in vivo assays, C. jamacaru promoted tumor reduction (86.07% of tumor inhibition), without inducing mutagenic or cytotoxic damage on mice blood cells. We propose that phenolic and alkaloid compounds in the extract are related to antioxidant activity, increasing its ability in metal chelating activity and promoting anti-cytotoxic activity against cisplatin, as well as these compounds may act on the cell cycle of the tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, leading to anticancer effects and tumor reduction.

Phytochemical Screening, Antioxidant, Anti-Cytotoxic and Anticancer Effects of Galinsoga Parviflora and Vernonia Polyanthes (Asteraceae) Extracts

“…al. [42]. Peripheral blood was collected from a healthy donor, aged between 18 and 30 years, with free and informed consent.…”

“…Untreated cells were used as a negative control (NC) and cells treated with cisplatin were used as a positive control (PC). To evaluate the perceptual of cytotoxic damage reduction it was used the formula from Serpeloni et al, adpted for Dutra et al [42], [43]:…”

Avaliação da casca do fruto e do caule do mandacaru como fontes de compostos fenólicos totais antioxidantes através da obtenção de extratos pelas técnicas de maceração e ultrassom

“…As raízes podem ser utilizadas em forma de chá, no tratamento de reumatismo, feridas, furúnculos, infecções urinárias [7]. Alguns pesquisadores têm avaliado propriedades farmacológicas e foi verificado que o caule do mandacaru promove atividade anticitotóxica e antitumoral [8] sem gerar efeitos tóxicos e nem alterações nos parâmetros bioquímicos e hematológicos estudados [9]. Foi observado também nesses extratos vegetais um potencial anticolinesterásico em doenças neurodegenerativas, como doença de Alzheimer [10].…”