Bioprospecting of Natural Compounds from Brazilian Cerrado Biome Plants in Human Cervical Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the third most common in Brazilian women. The chemotherapy used for the treatment of this disease can cause many side effects; then, to overcome this problem, new treatment options are necessary. Natural compounds represent one of the most promising sources for the development of new drugs. In this study, 13 different species of 6 families from the Brazilian Cerrado vegetation biome were screened against human cervical cancer cell lines (CCC). Some of these species were also evaluated in one normal keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). The effect of crude extracts on cell viability was evaluated by a colorimetric method (MTS assay). Extracts from Annona crassiflora, Miconia albicans, Miconia chamissois, Stryphnodendron adstringens, Tapirira guianensis, Xylopia aromatica, and Achyrocline alata showed half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values < 30 μg/mL for at least one CCC. A. crassiflora and S. adstringens extracts were selective for CCC. Mass spectrometry (Electrospray Ionization Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer (ESI FT-ICR MS)) of A. crassiflora identified fatty acids and flavonols as secondary compounds. One of the A. crassiflora fractions, 7C24 (from chloroform partition), increased H2AX phosphorylation (suggesting DNA damage), PARP cleavage, and cell cycle arrest in CCC. Kaempferol-3-O-rhamnoside and oleic acid were bioactive molecules identified in 7C24 fraction. These findings emphasize the importance of investigating bioactive molecules from natural sources for developing new anti-cancer drugs.

Bio-Prospecting of Crude Leaf Extracts from Thirteen Plants of Brazilian Cerrado Biome on Human Glioma Cell Lines

“…The present study observed the poorest in vitro inhibitory activity for the B. a ungulata, A. fraxinifolium , S. guianensis, B. variegata candida, and X. aromatica crude leaf extracts toward the glioma cell lines. Therefore, although we have not observed cytotoxic effects for these crude extracts in gliomas, many may have action on other tumor types [ 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ]. Recent studies published by our group revealed the importance of the diversity of secondary compounds in different crude extracts and their selective antitumor potential.…”

Phytotoxicity of organic extracts of five medicinal plants of the Neotropical savanna

“…The normality of the residuals (Shapiro-Wilk test, p>0.05) and the homogeneity of variances (Cochran test, p>0.05) of the data were tested. A one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett's test (p<0.05) was used to determine significant differences between the organic and control extracts, and a factorial ANOVA followed by Tukey's test (p≤0.05) was bioactive molecules for the development of new anticancer drugs (Silva et al, 2020;Rosa et al, 2021), while Qualea cordata Spreng. (Vochysiaceae), known as "carvãozinho", has antioxidant properties (Carnevale Neto et al, 2013) as well as antimicrobial, antiulcer, anticonvulsant, and analgesic activity (Carli et al, 2013).…”

The Genus Miconia Ruiz & Pav. (Melastomataceae): Ethnomedicinal Uses, Pharmacology, and Phytochemistry

“…Rosa et al [56], when evaluating the cytotoxicity of crude extracts of two species of Miconia (M. albicans and M. chamissois), found that the species showed IC 50 values lower than 30 µg/mL against the cell lines of human cervical cancer.…”