Title: The anticancer effect of rare potentilla species – Preliminary study in human colon cancer cell line LS180

Abstract

Potentilla L. (Rosaceae) species are valuable medicinal plants that have been known since antiquity as a remedy inter alia against diarrhoea, oral inflammations and topical infections [1]. The literature data report that species from this genus are a rich source of polyphenols, especially hydrolysable tannins, flavonoids and phenolic acids, and possess anti-neoplastic activity against various cancer cell lines [2,3]. Thus, the present investigation aimed to assess the secondary metabolites composition of selected acetone extracts from aerial parts of rare Potentilla species P. aurea (PAU7), P. erecta (PER7), P. fruticosa (PFR7), P. hyparctica (PHY7), P. megalantha (PME7), P. nepalensis (PNE7), P. pensylvanica (PPE7), P. pulcherrima (PPU7), P. rigoi (PRI7) and P. thuringiaca (PTH7) with the employment of LC-HRMS analysis. The anticancer potential of the selected extracts has been assessed in the human colon cancer cell line LS180 using the MTT, BrdU and LDH assays. The LC-HRMS analysis revealed the abundance of hydrolysable tannins and their derivatives, such as agrimoniin, pedunculagin α or β, ellagic acid derivatives, flavonoids, such as kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin derivatives and phenolic acids. The most significant anticancer effect in the MTT test revealed PFR7, which at the highest tested concentration of 250 µg/mL deceased LS180 cells proliferation by 94.8% (IC50 PFR7= 89 µg/mL), and the observed effect was significantly stronger than changes induced by 25 µM 5-fluorouracil used as a positive control. It should be emphasized that all investigated extracts at the highest tested concentrations revealed a stronger anticancer effect than 25 µM 5-FU. The BrdU assay revealed that all investigated extracts decreased DNA synthesis in colon cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner, and the strongest antiproliferative properties showed PFR7 with the IC50 value at 50 µg/mL. The LDH assay demonstrated that all examined extracts damaged colon cancer cell membranes. The strongest cytotoxicity revealed PFR7, which in concentrations from 25 to 250 µg/mL increased LDH levels by 102% and 424%, respectively. Obtained results suggested the great anticancer potential of investigated Potentilla extracts in the field of colon cancer chemoprevention. Nevertheless, further in vivo as well as clinical studies are required.

Biography

Pharmacist, PhD student working at the Department of Pharmacognosy at Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland. Research areas include phytochemical evaluations of plants secondary metabolites, especially species from genus Potentilla, their isolation and characterization, as well as pharmacological evaluations of active phytoconstituents in biological systems.