Abstract
Several epidemiological studies have suggested that carotenoids have antineoplasic activities. The objective of this study was to determine the antiproliferative effect of rich carotenoid lipophilic extracts of papaya fruit pulp ( Carica papaya L., cv Maradol) in breast cancer cells, MCF-7 (estrogen receptor positive) and MDA-MB-231 (estrogen receptor negative), and in non-tumoral mammary epithelial cells MCF-12F. Antiproliferative effect was evaluated using the methylthiazolydiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and testing lipophilic extracts from different papaya fruit ripening stages (RS1, RS2, RS3, RS4), at different times (24, 48 and 72 h). Papaya lipophilic extracts do not inhibit cell proliferation of MCF-12F and MDA-MB-231 cells. However, MCF-7 cells showed a significant reduction in proliferation at 72 h with the RS4 papaya extract. Results suggested that lipophilic extracts had different action mechanisms on each type of cells and therefore, more studies were required to elucidate such mechanisms.
Highlights
Cancer caused 8.2 million deaths in 2012, according to the Global Cancer Statistics, from which 521,000 were breast cancer related, and it is forecasted that by 2030 this number will increase to 22 million [1]
The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative effect of lipophilic extract of “Maradol” papaya fruit on breast cancer cell MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 and non-tumoral breast epithelial cells MCF-12F for possible use as chemopreventive agent
In MCF-12F cells it was observed that papaya lipophilic extracts did not inhibit cell proliferation after 72h of treatment, which suggests that the main component of extracts, carotenoids, did not affect cell growth in a normal breast epithelium
Summary
Cancer caused 8.2 million deaths in 2012, according to the Global Cancer Statistics, from which 521,000 were breast cancer related, and it is forecasted that by 2030 this number will increase to 22 million [1]. The beneficial effect of diets rich in fruits and vegetables is attributed mainly to bioactive components (carotenoids, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, vitamins C and E) that provide antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiproliferative properties [5]-[7]. A high consumption of carotenoids could be associated with the reduction of the risk of breast cancer, because these types of compounds show several biological activities, from which the promotion of apoptosis in transformed cells stands out [8]. These antioxidants induce cell differentiation, repair damaged DNA, inhibit gene mutation, and activate tumor-suppressive genes [9]. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative effect of lipophilic extract (carotenoids) of “Maradol” papaya fruit on breast cancer cell MCF-7 (estrogen receptor positive) and MDA-MB-231 (estrogen receptor negative) and non-tumoral breast epithelial cells MCF-12F for possible use as chemopreventive agent
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