edoc

Phytochemical analysis and in vitro anti-proliferative activity of Viscum album ethanolic extracts

Holandino, Carla and de Oliveira Melo, Michelle Nonato and Passos Oliveira, Adriana and da Costa Batista, João Vitor and Alves Marques Capella, Marcia and Garret, Rafael and Grazi, Mirio and Ramm, Hartmut and Dalla Torre, Claudia and Schaller, Gerhard and Urech, Konrad and Weissenstein, Ulrike and Baumgartner, Stephan. (2020) Phytochemical analysis and in vitro anti-proliferative activity of Viscum album ethanolic extracts. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 20 (1). p. 215.

[img] PDF - Published Version
Available under License CC BY (Attribution).

1974Kb

Official URL: https://edoc.unibas.ch/82090/

Downloads: Statistics Overview

Abstract

Background: Viscum album L. (Santalaceae), commonly known as mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant traditionally used in complementary cancer treatment. Its antitumor potential is mostly attributed to the presence of aqueous soluble metabolites; however, the use of ethanol as solvent also permits the extraction of pharmacological compounds with antitumor potential. The clinical efficacy of mistletoe therapy inspired the present work, which focuses on ethanolic extracts (V. album "mother tinctures", MT) prepared from different host trees. Methods: Samples from three European subspecies (album, austriacum, and abietis) were harvested, and five different V. album-MT strains were prepared. The following phytochemical analyses were performed: thin layer chromatography (TLC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). The proliferation assay was performed with WST-1 after incubation of tumor (Yoshida and Molt-4) and fibroblast cell lines (NIH/3 T3) with different MT concentrations (0.5 to 0.05% v/v). The cell death mechanism was investigated by flow cytometry (FACS) using Annexin V-7AAD. Results: Chemical analyses of MT showed the presence of phenolic acids, flavonoids and lignans. The MT flavonoid and viscotoxin contents (mg/g fresh weight) were highest in Quercus robur (9.67 ± 0.85 mg/g) and Malus domestica (3.95 ± 0.58 mg/mg), respectively. The viscotoxin isoform proportions (% total) were also different among the VA subspecies with a higher content of A3 in V. album growing on Abies alba (60.57 ± 2.13). The phytochemical compounds as well as the viscotoxin contents are probably related to the antitumor effects of MT. The cell death mechanisms evaluated by colorimetric and FACS methodologies involved necrotic damage, which was host tree-, time- and dose- dependent, with different selectivity to tumor cells. Mother tincture from V. album ssp. abietis was the most effective at inducing in vitro cellular effects, even when incubated at the smallest concentration tested, probably because of the higher content of VT A3. Conclusion: Our results indicate the promising antitumor potential of Viscum album ethanolic extracts and the importance of botanical and phytochemical characterization for in vitro anti-proliferative effects.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Pharmazeutische Wissenschaften
UniBasel Contributors:da Costa Batista, Joao Vitor
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:BioMed Central
e-ISSN:2662-7671
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
Identification Number:
edoc DOI:
Last Modified:24 Mar 2021 07:48
Deposited On:24 Mar 2021 07:48

Repository Staff Only: item control page