Cytotoxic potential of selected medicinal plants in northeast Brazil

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2016-12-28T12:27:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva TBC Cytotoxic potential....pdf: 607171 bytes, checksum: 95b9dd2851f0490957ef329eb1d35c26 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2016-12-28T12:37:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva TBC Cytotoxic potential....pdf: 607171 bytes, checksum: 95b9dd2851f0490957ef329eb1d35c26 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-28T12:37:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva TBC Cytotoxic potential....pdf: 607171 bytes, checksum: 95b9dd2851f0490957ef329eb1d35c26 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnológico) and FAPESB (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado da Bahia).Universidade Federal de Alagoas. Unidade de Ensino de Viçosa, Campus Arapiraca. Viçosa, AL, BrasilFundação Gonçalo Moniz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Gonçalo Moniz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Gonçalo Moniz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Gonçalo Moniz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilUniversidade Federal de Alagoas. Unidade de Ensino de Viçosa, Campus Arapiraca. Viçosa, AL, BrasilUniversidade Federal de Alagoas. Unidade de Ensino de Viçosa, Campus Arapiraca. Viçosa, AL, BrasilUniversidade Federal de Alagoas. Unidade de Ensino de Viçosa, Campus Arapiraca. Viçosa, AL, BrasilFundação Gonçalo Moniz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Hospital São Rafael. Centro de Biotecnologia e Terapia Celular. Salvador, BA, BrasilFundação Gonçalo Moniz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, BrasilGreat biodiversity is a highlight of Brazilian flora. In contrast, the therapeutic potentialities of most species used in folk medicine remain unknown. Several of these species are commonly used to treat cancer. In this study, we investigated the cytotoxic activity of 18 plants from 16 families that are found in the northeast region of Brazil. Methods: The following species were studied: Byrsonima sericea DC. (Malpighiaceae), Cupania impressinervia Acev. Rodr. var. (revoluta) Radlk (Sapindaceae), Duranta repens Linn. (Verbenaceae), Helicostylis tomentosa (Poepp. & Endl) Rusby (Moraceae), Himatanthus bracteatus (A.DC.) Woodson (Apocynaceae), Ipomoea purga (Wender.) Hayne (Convolvulaceae), Ixora coccinea Linn. (Rubiaceae), Mabea piriri Aubl. (Euphorbiaceae), Miconia minutiflora (Melastomataceae), Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae), Ocotea glomerata (Nees) Mez (Lauraceae), Ocotea longifolia Kunth (Oreodaphne opifera Mart. Nees) (Lauraceae), Pavonia fruticosa (Mill.) Fawc. & Rendle (Malvaceae), Psychotria capitata Ruiz & Pav. (Rubiaceae), Schefflera morototoni (Aubl.) Maguire, Steyerm. & Frodin (Araliaceae), Solanum paludosum Moric. (Solanaceae), Xylopia frutescens Aubl. (Annonaceae) and Zanthoxylum rhoifolium Lam. (Rutaceae). Their dried leaves, stems, flowers or fruits were submitted to different solvent extractions, resulting in 55 extracts. After incubating for 72 h, the cytotoxicity of each extract was tested against tumor cell lines using the alamar blue assay. Results: The B. sericea, D. repens, H. bracteatus, I. purga, I. coccinea, M. piriri, O. longifolia and P. capitata extracts demonstrated the most potent cytotoxic activity. The chloroform soluble fractions of D. repens flowers and the hexane extract of I. coccinea flowers led to the isolation of quercetin and a mixture of α- and β-amyrin, respectively, and quercetin showed moderate cytotoxic activity. Conclusion: The B. sericea, D. repens, H. bracteatus, I. purga, I. coccinea, M. piriri, O. longifolia and P. capitata plants were identified as having potent cytotoxic effects. Further investigations are required to determine the mechanisms of cytotoxicity exhibited and their in vivo activities. This work reinforces the need to understand the therapeutics potentialities of Brazilian medicinal plants