Abstract
Ovarian cancer is one of the most common gynaecological cancers today. This study therefore investigates the anticancer effects of Ficus exasperata extracts and fractions on ovarian cancer cells. The antiproliferative activity of the crude extracts (1 mg/mL) was assessed using the MTT assay on A2780 (ovarian cancer) cell line. Bio-activity guided fractionation was performed and preliminary identification was further achieved using high resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. All crude extracts tested exhibited antiproliferative activity except for the methanol extract which interestingly showed proliferative effects. Five fatty acids were identified from the active fractions (FB1-10 and FB1-12). FB1-12 exhibited an IC50 value of 15.20 μg/mL. The least potent fraction (FB1-4 + 5) had an IC50 value of 34.51 μg/mL. H1-HEX and H1-MET exhibited 97.2 and 97.9%, respectively, compared to control. This study therefore provides proof-of-principle that fatty acids of Ficus exasperata exhibit significant antiproliferative effects on ovarian cancer cells.
Highlights
Ovarian cancer (OC) is an overarching term for malignancies originating from different cell types within the ovaries
3.1 Cell Inhibition Profile of Extracts and FEBH It was observed that all extracts tested exhibited greater than 80% cell growth inhibition, except for MFF1 which displayed cell growth enhancement (Fig. 1)
One study observed no benefit after administration of omega-3 fatty acids (FAs) in terms of OC risk reduction [17], whilst some FAs may possibly be associated with the development of resistance to cancer chemotherapy [16]
Summary
Ovarian cancer (OC) is an overarching term for malignancies originating from different cell types within the ovaries. It has become one of the great challenges faced by clinicians in gynaecologic oncology [1]. Persistent ovulation is a possible cause due to repeated trauma, repair and remodelling of the tissues within the ovaries [3]. This may increase the risk of mutational changes upon repair. A lack of disease-specific symptoms can make OC diagnosis difficult (symptoms may be confused with conditions such as endometriosis and menstruation) and so a large proportion of diagnoses are made at advanced stages (around 62%) [4] complicating therapy. It has been estimated that only 15% of cancers remain localised to the ovary at the time of diagnosis; this further complicates treatment [4]
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