Evaluation of the cytotoxic effect of crude aqueous and ethanolic extracts isolated from Lentinus sp. on human cancer cell lines

Aims@#The aim of this study was to evaluate some chemical properties and the cytotoxic effect of aqueous and ethanolic crude polysaccharides extracted from five Lentinus sp. on human cancer cell lines. It was hypothesized that other species of the genus Lentinus could show the pharmacological actions as presence in Lentinus edodes, especially anticancer properties. @*Methodology and results@#Crude extracts of dried fruit bodies and mycelia from L. edodes, Lentinus sajor-caju, Lentinus swartzii, Lentinus squarrosulus and Lentinus velutinus were extracted using two solvents, hot water and 95% ethanol, and evaluated for their total carbohydrates, proteins, reducing sugar, phenol contents, and cytotoxicity. The yield of crude extracts was 33.6-205.3 mg/g dry weight of a sample. Cytotoxicity was determined with 10 mg/mL of crude aqueous and 1 mg/mL of crude ethanolic extracts by using the [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide] (MTT) method. All extracts showed non-cytotoxicity against the normal cell lines, LLC-MK2 and L929 cells. While, the extracts of L. edodes, L. sajor-caju, L. squarrosulus and L. velutinus displayed the cytotoxicity against the human cancer cell lines. @*Conclusion, significance and impact of study@#The crude aqueous and ethanolic extract from fruit bodies of L. velutinus and the ethanolic extract from fruit bodies of L. sajor-caju and L. squarrosulus displayed the adverse effect against the human cancer cell lines. Hence, these extracts are a potential source of bioactive compounds for cancer treatment.

Potential of four marine-derived fungi extracts as anti-proliferative and cell death-inducing agents in seven human cancer cell lines

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the in vitro anticancer activity of crude ethyl acetate extracts of the culture of four marine-derived fungi Aspergillus similanensis KUFA 0013 (E1), Neosartorya paulistensis KUFC 7897 (E2), Neosartorya siamensis KUFA 0017 (E4) and Talaromyces trachyspermus KUFC 0021 (E3) on a panel of seven human cancer cell lines.@*METHODS@#Effects on cell proliferation, induction of DNA damage and cell death were assessed by MTT and clonogenic assays, comet assay and nuclear condensation assay, respectively.@*RESULTS@#The proliferation of HepG2, HCT116 and A375 cells decreased after incubation with the extracts E2 and E4. The anti-proliferative effect was confirmed by morphologic alterations and by clonogenic assay. Both extracts also induced cell death in HepG2 and HCT116 cells. Doxorubicin was used as a positive control and showed in vitro anticancer activity.@*CONCLUSIONS@#This study demonstrated, for the first time, that extracts of Neosartorya paulistensis and Neosartorya siamensis have selective anti-proliferative and cell death activities in HepG2, HCT16 and A375 cells. The bioactivity of these extracts suggests a potential for biotechnological applications and substantiates that both should be further considered for the elucidation of the molecular targets and signal transduction pathways involved.

Potential of four marine-derived fungi extracts as anti-proliferative and cell death-inducing agents in seven human cancer cell lines

Objective: To evaluate the in vitro anticancer activity of crude ethyl acetate extracts of the culture of four marine-derived fungi Aspergillus similanensis KUFA 0013 (E1), Neosartorya paulistensis KUFC 7897 (E2), Neosartorya siamensis KUFA 0017 (E4) and Talaromyces trachyspermus KUFC 0021 (E3) on a panel of seven human cancer cell lines. Methods: Effects on cell proliferation, induction of DNA damage and cell death were assessed by MTT and clonogenic assays, comet assay and nuclear condensation assay, respectively. Results: The proliferation of HepG2, HCT116 and A375 cells decreased after incubation with the extracts E2 and E4. The anti-proliferative effect was confirmed by morphologic alterations and by clonogenic assay. Both extracts also induced cell death in HepG2 and HCT116 cells. Doxorubicin was used as a positive control and showed in vitro anticancer activity. Conclusions: This study demonstrated, for the first time, that extracts of Neosartorya paulistensis and Neosartorya siamensis have selective anti-proliferative and cell death activities in HepG2, HCT16 and A375 cells. The bioactivity of these extracts suggests a potential for biotechnological applications and substantiates that both should be further considered for the elucidation of the molecular targets and signal transduction pathways involved.

Anti-proliferative effect of leaf extracts of Eucalyptus citriodora against human cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Six different extracts from Eucalyptus citriodora leaves were investigated for their anticancer effect. Extracts were prepared using a range of polar and non-polar solvents to leach out maximum active components. Phytochemical analysis of the extracts revealed the presence of anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, saponins and tannins. Cytotoxic activity of different extracts was tested in vitro against seven human cancer cell lines from seven different tissues, such as SW-620 (colon), HOP-62 (lung), PC-3 (prostate), OVCAR-5 (ovary), HeLa (cervix), IMR-32 (neuroblastoma) and HEP-2 (liver). The ethyl acetate, chloroform and 50% methanolic extract displayed highest anti-proliferative effect in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo anti-tumor activity was evaluated against murine tumor (solid) model of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma and Sarcoma 180. The results showed that ethyl acetate and aqueous extracts suppressed the growth of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (29.79% and 18.48%, respectively), but showed little growth inhibition in case of Sarcoma 180 (13. 86% and 8.57%, respectively). The activity might be due to the flavonoids, tannins and saponins that are present in all the extracts of the plant. Further investigation is required for the isolation of active principle(s) from the ethyl acetate extract, which has shown significant in vitro and in vivo anticancer potential.

Antiproliferative effect of cucurbitacin B extracted from trichosanthes cucumerina L. on human cancer cell lines.

Objective: To determine the antiproliferative effect of cucurbitacin B extracted from Trichosanthes cucumerina L. on human cancer cell lines. Methods: Two human lung non-small cell (adenocarcinoma) cancer cell lines i.e., LK87, and QG95, two human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines i.e., HCT15, and HT29, including one renal cancer cell line, A498, and one pancreatic cancer cell line, NOR-P, were used in this study. The viability of cells was assessed by using WST-8 which is based on detection of LDH released from damaged cells and reacts with WST-8 to form a yellow color. Cells were treated with the compound at various concentration from 1 through 100 µg/ml. Results: The ED50 values (effective doses that are required for 50% inhibition growth of tumor cells) of the compound on human cancer cell lines ranged from approximately 69 µg/ml in HCT15 cells up to 231 µg/ml in QG95 cells. The inhibition of proliferation of this compound on these human cancer cell lines was observed to be in a dose dependent manner. Conclusion: It could be concluded from this observation that this compound has a modest direct toxic effect to these cell lines with the highest toxic effect on human colon cancer cells.