Abstract

BackgroundEuterpe oleracea Mart., a plant from the Amazon region, is commonly known as açaí or juçara; it has high nutritional value and elevated levels of lipids, proteins, and minerals. Açaí is an abundant and much consumed fruit by the Amazon local population, and studies have demonstrated that it is rich in phytochemicals with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test this plant for anticancer activity in different human malignant cell lines.MethodsCell lines derived from breast and colorectal adenocarcinomas were treated with 10, 20, and 40 μg/mL of bark, seed, and total açaí fruit hydroalcoholic extracts for 24 and 48 h. After treatment, cell viability was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays, and cell morphological features were observed by light and transmission electron microscopy. The type of cell death was also evaluated. The data were analyzed statistically by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Dunnett’s or Tukey’s post hoc tests, as appropriate.ResultsWe observed that of all the cell lines tested, MCF-7 was the only line that responded to açaí treatment. The extracts caused significant reduction (p < 0.01) in cell viability and altered cell morphological features by inducing the appearance of autophagic vacuoles, as observed by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, increased expression of LC3BII, a protein marker of autophagosome formation, was observed by western blotting. Caspase Glo™ assays and morphologic observations by DAPI nuclear staining and transmission electron microscopy did not indicate any apoptotic events.ConclusionsThe present study demonstrated that açaí possesses antitumorigenic potential in the MCF-7 cell line. Further studies are needed to identify the compound (s) responsible for this cytotoxic activity and the molecular target in the cell. This discovery of the anticancer potential of açaí may help in the development of chemopreventive drugs and may have therapeutic effects in the treatment of breast cancer.

Highlights

  • Euterpe oleracea Mart., a plant from the Amazon region, is commonly known as açaí or juçara; it has high nutritional value and elevated levels of lipids, proteins, and minerals

  • Euterpe oleracea Mart. is an indigenous monocot plant found in the estuary of the Amazon region and is commonly known as juçara or acai

  • Due to the wide usage of açaí by a local population of the Amazon region and the antitumorigenic potential of this plant, we investigated whether açaí extracts from the fruit, bark, and seed possess anticancer activity in human malignant cell lines

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Summary

Introduction

Euterpe oleracea Mart., a plant from the Amazon region, is commonly known as açaí or juçara; it has high nutritional value and elevated levels of lipids, proteins, and minerals. Açaí is an abundant and much consumed fruit by the Amazon local population, and studies have demonstrated that it is rich in phytochemicals with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activities. Is an indigenous monocot plant found in the estuary of the Amazon region and is commonly known as juçara or acai. It is widely consumed by the Amazonian population living on the shore of the Amazon River [1]. An in vivo study with healthy volunteers demonstrated that açaí pulp caused a significant increase in the antioxidant capacity of plasma, which indicates the in vivo antioxidant potential of E. oleracea Mart. [9]

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