Cytotoxic effects of Euterpe oleracea Mart. in malignant cell lines

Abstract

BackgroundEuterpe oleracea Mart., a plant from the Amazon region, is commonly known as açaí or juçara; it has high nutritional value and elevated levels of lipids, proteins, and minerals. Açaí is an abundant and much consumed fruit by the Amazon local population, and studies have demonstrated that it is rich in phytochemicals with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test this plant for anticancer activity in different human malignant cell lines.MethodsCell lines derived from breast and colorectal adenocarcinomas were treated with 10, 20, and 40 μg/mL of bark, seed, and total açaí fruit hydroalcoholic extracts for 24 and 48 h. After treatment, cell viability was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays, and cell morphological features were observed by light and transmission electron microscopy. The type of cell death was also evaluated. The data were analyzed statistically by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Dunnett’s or Tukey’s post hoc tests, as appropriate.ResultsWe observed that of all the cell lines tested, MCF-7 was the only line that responded to açaí treatment. The extracts caused significant reduction (p < 0.01) in cell viability and altered cell morphological features by inducing the appearance of autophagic vacuoles, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, increased expression of LC3BII, a protein marker of autophagosome formation, was observed by western blotting. Caspase Glo™ assays and morphologic observations by DAPI nuclear staining and transmission electron microscopy did not indicate any apoptotic events.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated that açaí possesses antitumorigenic potential in the MCF-7 cell line. Further studies are needed to identify the compound (s) responsible for this cytotoxic activity and the molecular target in the cell. This discovery of the anticancer potential of açaí may help in the development of chemopreventive drugs and may have therapeutic effects in the treatment of breast cancer.

Euterpe oleracea Extract (Açaí) Is a Promising Novel Pharmacological Therapeutic Treatment for Experimental Endometriosis

“…To our knowledge, this report is the first study to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic effects of açaí in endometriotic implants. Notably, our study used the hydro-alcoholic extracted from açaí stones because this extract was previously described to be more active than the pulp extract [25,37]. …”

“…Silva et al . demonstrated the anticancer activity of açaí in different malignant cell lines [25]. These authors concluded that the extract exhibited anti-tumorigenic potential in the human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and reduced viability and morphological alterations [25].…”

The powerful in vitro bioactivity of Euterpe oleracea Mart. seeds and related phenolic compounds

“…Furthermore, this extract did not show toxicity to non-tumor cells (primary cultures of liver cells, PLP2). To our knowledge, Silva et al (2014), was the only report found in literature that performed cytotoxic effects using cell lines derived from breast and colorectal adenocarcinomas (Caco-2, HT-29, MDA-MB-468 and MCF-7) with different parts of açaí, including its seeds. These authors concluded that an ethanol/water seed extract was significantly more effective against the MCF-7 cell line than total fruit and bark extracts.…”

“…Silva et al (2014) conducted a study with the açaí fruit including the seeds, evaluating the cytotoxic effects in malignant cell lines and concluded that the seeds present a higher polyphenols content compared to the pulp being its antimutagenic potential was also higher. The same authors have warned of the need for further studies to characterize the compounds responsible for these effects.…”

Research Article First cytotoxic, genotoxic, and antigenotoxic assessment of Euterpe oleracea fruit oil (açaí) in cultured human cells.

“…The concentrations of EOO tested were 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 800, and 1000 μg/mL, and the results after 4-and 24-h exposure to EOO showed that none of the tested concentrations induced cytotoxic effects in both cell types analyzed (cell viability was above 80%). On the other hand, Silva et al (2014) observed that bark, seed, and total açaí fruit hydroalcoholic extracts showed cytotoxicity (and antitumorigenic potential) in the human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7), but not in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells, also by using the MTT assay. The differences in the extract composition, protocols, and cell types analyzed could explain the differences in the cytotoxic effects observed in these two studies between themselves and our present study.…”