Abstract
Pachycereus marginatus (DC.) Britton & Rose is a species belonging to the family Cactaceae. In traditional medicine, it is recommended to treat diabetes and gastrointestinal infections; however, there are no studies related to its use in cancer treatment. The in vitro antitumor effect of P. marginatus hexane, chloroform, methanol, and methanol-aqueous partition stem extracts, against murine lymphoma L5178Y-R and skin melanoma B16F10 cells, was evaluated in liquid medium by the colorimetric 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay. The extracts resulted in up to 84, 85, 84, and 82% cytotoxicity (p < 0.05) to L5178Y-R cells, respectively, and up to 39, 51, 48, and 42% cytotoxicity (p < 0.05) to B16F10 cells, respectively. Vehicle controls were not cytotoxic for tumor cells, and along with the extracts they did not affect viability of resident murine thymus and spleen lymphocytes. Taken together, the present results showed that P. marginatus extracts possess antitumor potential against L5178Y-R lymphoma and B16F10 skin melanoma cells. Key words: Cancer, cacti, Pachycereus marginatus, lymphoma, melanoma, medicinal plants.
Highlights
In the search for alternatives to treat diseases, researchers worldwide have taken the task of finding native plants with potential health benefit
The species is endemic to Mexico, where it grows wild in states that have a dry and hot climate such as Nuevo León, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Ciudad de México, Tamaulipas, Guerrero, Michoacán, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Morelos, Veracruz, Tlaxcala, and Querétaro (Hernández et al, 2004), and in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California (Paredes-Flores et al, 2007; Arias and Terrazas, 2009)
There was no statistical significance between extract treatment groups, as determined by analysis of variance (ANOVA), p
Summary
In the search for alternatives to treat diseases, researchers worldwide have taken the task of finding native plants with potential health benefit. Numerous cacti species have been reported to possess. The species is endemic to Mexico, where it grows wild in states that have a dry and hot climate such as Nuevo León, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Ciudad de México, Tamaulipas, Guerrero, Michoacán, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Morelos, Veracruz, Tlaxcala, and Querétaro (Hernández et al, 2004), and in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Southern California (Paredes-Flores et al, 2007; Arias and Terrazas, 2009). P. marginatus is traditionally used to treat gastrointestinal infections (Hernández et al, 2003); its antimicrobial potential in plants, animals, and humans has been reported, as well as its activity to improve wound healing, and promote plant growth (Jordan-Hernandez, 2012). The antitumor potential of P. marginatus has not yet been reported
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