ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Cancer is still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Many chemotherapeutics from plants have been tested in cancer, such as vinblastine and paclitaxel. The north of Chile, Arica & Parinacota region, is characterized by its vegetal biodiversity due to its unique geographical and climatological conditions, offering an unexplored and unique source of naturally-derived compounds. The present research has considered a screening of 26 highland herbs using an in vitro growth inhibition model in a panel of six cancer cell lines from different tissues. 5 of the 26 studied ethanolic extracts shows strong activity at least in one cell line when tested at 10 µg mL-1. We present a group of plants worthy to be evaluated as promissory extracts. This work is part of the systematic attempt to find new candidates to be used in cancer therapies.
RESUMO: O câncer ainda é uma das principais causas de morte no mundo. Muitos quimioterápicos de plantas foram testados em câncer, como vinblastina e paclitaxel. O norte do Chile, região de Arica e Parinacota, caracteriza-se por sua biodiversidade vegetal devido às suas condições geográficas e climatológicas únicas, oferecendo uma fonte inexplorada e única de compostos de origem natural. A presente pesquisa considerou uma triagem de 26 ervas das terras altas usando um modelo de inibição de crescimento in vitro em um painel de seis linhas celulares de câncer de diferentes tecidos. Cinco, dos 26 extratos etanólicos estudados, mostram forte atividade pelo menos em uma linhagem celular quando testados a 10 µg mL-1. Apresentamos um grupo de plantas dignas de serem avaliadas como extratos promissórios. Este trabalho faz parte da tentativa sistemática de encontrar novos candidatos para serem usados em terapias contra o câncer.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT High-resolution mass spectrometry is currently used to determine the mass of biologically active compounds in plants and UHPLC-Orbitrap is a relatively new technology that allows fast fingerprinting and metabolomics analysis. In this work, several phenolic compounds including eleven phenolic acids, two fatty acids, two chromones and fourteen flavones were rapidly identified in the methanolic extracts of aerial parts and flowers of the unique Chilean species Ophryosporus triangularis Meyen, Asteraceae, growing in the Atacama Desert by means of ultrahigh resolution liquid chromatography orbitrap MS analysis (UHPLC-PDA-OT-MS) for the first time. The UHPLC-MS fingerprint generated can be used for the authentication of this endemic species. The methanolic extracts of the aerial parts and flowers showed also antioxidant capacities (65.34 ± 1.32 and 52.41 ± 1.87 µg/ml in the DPPH assay, 184.88 ± 13.22 and 196.80 ± 13.28 µmol TE/g dry weight in the ferric reducing power assay and 56.17 ± 3.03 and 65.41 ± 1.96% in the superoxide anion scavenging assay, respectively).