Background: The marine environment has shown to be an interesting
source of new antitumor agents, representing an important tool in cancer
research. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antitumor
activities of 12 algae from Peniche coast (Portugal) on an in vitro model
of human colorectal cancer (Caco‑2 cells). Materials and Methods: The
antitumor potential was accessed by evaluating Caco‑2 cell’s viability and
proliferation through the 3‑[4, 5‑dimethylthiazol‑2‑yl]‑2, 5‑diphenyl tetrazolium
bromide and calcein‑AM methods. Results: The dichloromethane extracts
of Asparagopsis armata and Sphaerococcus coronopifolius induced the
highest decrease on cell’s viability (1 mg/mL; 24 h), 98.96% ± 0.39%
and 98.08% ± 0.89%, respectively, followed by the methanolic extracts
of S. coronopifolius (96.47% ± 1.26%) and A. armata (92.68% ± 1.17%).
Regarding cell proliferation, the highest decrease of Caco‑2 cell’s proliferation
(1 mg/mL; 24 h) was induced by the dichloromethane extract of A. armata
(100% ± 0.48%), S. coronopifolius (99.04 ± 0.51%), and Plocamium
cartilagineum (95.05% ± 1.19%). The highest potency was shown by
the dichloromethane extract of S. coronopifolius in both, cytotoxicity and
antiproliferative tests, with an IC50 of 21.3 and 36.5 µg/mL, respectively.
Conclusion: The extracts of A. armata and S. coronopifolius are promising
sources of new bioactive molecules with application in cancer therapeutics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
