In vitro Anticancer Activity of Aponogeton madagascariensis Anthocyanin Extracts

Arunika N Gunawardena,David W Hoskin,Wasundara Fernando,Andrea N Rasmussen,A Harrison Wright,Shawna Mackinnon,Adrian N Dauphinee,Alice Rollini

doi:10.33211/jnhpr.19

Abstract

Introduction: Aponogeton madagascariensis (lace plant) is a freshwater aquatic flowering plant belonging to the family Aponogetonaceae that forms leaf perforations via programmed cell death (PCD). The lace plant has emerged as a novel model system for studying PCD in planta due to the predictability and accessibility of this process. Anthocyanins, and the balance between ROS and antioxidants, play a central role in regulating PCD in lace plant leaves. Aponogetonaceae family members have shown medicinal properties, including antioxidant and anticancer activities; however, nothing is known about the lace plant’s potential for medicinal use. Therefore, this study evaluated the anticancer activities of lace plant anthocyanin extracts. Methods: Cell line growth and viability were assessed following exposure to lace plant leaf anthocyanin extracts. This study utilized a triple-negative breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, two human ovarian epithelial cancer cell lines, OVCAR-8 and SKOV-3, along with a normal mammary epithelial cell line, MCF-10A. Furthermore, crude anthocyanin extracts were fractionated into anthocyanin and non-anthocyanin containing fractions and tested only on MDA-MB-231 cells. Results and Discussion: The crude anthocyanin extracts from lace plant leaves inhibited the growth of MDA-MB-231, OVCAR-8, and SKOV-3 cells in a concentration-dependent manner and had no effect on MCF-10A cells. Lace plant crude anthocyanin extracts appeared to induce apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. Interestingly, treatment with anthocyanin and non-anthocyanin fractions decreased the growth of MDA-MB-231, similarly to crude anthocyanin extracts, suggesting the presence of other anticancer compounds in the lace plant extracts. Conclusions: Lace plant crude anthocyanin extracts and corresponding fractions have in vitro anticancer activities.

Highlights

Aponogeton madagascariensis is a freshwater aquatic flowering plant belonging to the family Aponogetonaceae that forms leaf perforations via programmed cell death (PCD)
The colorimetric MTT assay was used to assess the growth, as reflected by metabolic activity of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) MDA-MB-231 cells, human ovarian epithelial cancer OVCAR-8 and SKOV-3 cells, and immortalized human mammary epithelial MCF-10A cells when treated with crude anthocyanin-rich extracts from window and mature stage leaves of A. madagascariensis
Results from the MTT assays comparing breast and ovarian cancer cells to normal mammary cells showed that crude anthocyanin extracts from the window stage leaves of the lace plant significantly inhibited the metabolic activity of MDA-MB-231, OVCAR-8, and SKOV-3 at all four concentrations, compared to MCF10A cells (Figure 2B)

Summary

Introduction

Aponogeton madagascariensis (lace plant) is a freshwater aquatic flowering plant belonging to the family Aponogetonaceae that forms leaf perforations via programmed cell death (PCD). Aponogetonaceae family members have shown medicinal properties, including antioxidant and anticancer activities; nothing is known about the lace plant’s potential for medicinal use. This study evaluated the anticancer activities of lace plant anthocyanin extracts. Lace plant is endemic to the river systems of Madagascar [2] and its common name is representative of its distinct lattice-like leaf morphology (Figure 1 A, B). This characteristic leaf pattern is due to perforations that form between longitudinal and transverse veins via programmed cell death (PCD).

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Conclusion