Abstract
BackgroundChemoprevention represents the possibility to prevent, stop or reverse the cancerogenetic process. In this context the interest towards natural extracts and botanical drugs has constantly grown due to their phytochemical content. Castanea sativa Mill. (CSM) extracts showed to exert positive effect in the prevention/counteraction of chronic/degenerative diseases, therefore, we evaluated the potential chemopreventive effect of CSM bark extract.MethodsFlow cytometry (FCM) analyses of Jurkat cells treated with CSM bark extract (0–500 μg·mL−1) for 24–72 h allowed evaluating its cytotoxicity and ability to induce apoptosis through the intrinsic or extrinsic pathways. Moreover, to evaluate CSM bark extract selectivity towards cancer cells, its cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effect was also evaluated in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL).ResultsCSM bark extract induced apoptosis in Jurkat cells in a dose- and time- dependent manner activating the extrinsic pathways as evidenced by the increase of activated caspase-8 positive cells. Moreover, IC50 calculated after 24 h treatment resulted 304 and 128 μg·mL−1 in PBL and Jurkat cells respectively.ConclusionsOur data suggest that CSM bark extract might be considered an interesting potential anti-cancer agent, since it induces apoptosis in cancer cells without appreciable cytotoxic effects on non-transformed cells.
Highlights
Chemoprevention represents the possibility to prevent, stop or reverse the cancerogenetic process
Cytotoxicity on Jurkat cells was evaluated by Flow cytometry (FCM) (Fig. 1a) and confirmed by MTT assay (Fig. 1b), after 24 h treatment with 0–500 μg·mL−1 Castanea sativa Mill. (CSM) bark extract concentrations
In order to verify the selectivity against tumour cells, peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were treated for 24 h with 0–500 μg·mL−1 CSM bark extract
Summary
Chemoprevention represents the possibility to prevent, stop or reverse the cancerogenetic process. In this context the interest towards natural extracts and botanical drugs has constantly grown due to their phytochemical content. Methods: Flow cytometry (FCM) analyses of Jurkat cells treated with CSM bark extract (0–500 μg·mL−1) for 24–72 h allowed evaluating its cytotoxicity and ability to induce apoptosis through the intrinsic or extrinsic pathways. To evaluate CSM bark extract selectivity towards cancer cells, its cytotoxic and pro-apoptotic effect was evaluated in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Plants have been used in traditional medicine all over the world for centuries and a great body of scientific literature is reconsidering, the role of botanicals in new drugs development [11]. Rich in bioactive compounds, are emerging as key modulators of cancer risk and other chronic pathological conditions, such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases [6, 12,13,14,15,16]
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