Abstract
Shrimp is one of the most popular seafood items worldwide, and has been reported as a source of chemopreventive compounds. In this study, shrimp lipids were separated by solvent partition and further fractionated by semi-preparative RP-HPLC and finally by open column chromatography in order to obtain isolated antiproliferative compounds. Antiproliferative activity was assessed by inhibition of M12.C3.F6 murine cell growth using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide) assay. The methanolic fraction showed the highest antiproliferative activity; this fraction was separated into 15 different sub-fractions (M1–M15). Fractions M8, M9, M10, M12, and M13 were antiproliferative at 100 µg/mL and they were further tested at lower concentrations. Fractions M12 and M13 exerted the highest growth inhibition with an IC50 of 19.5 ± 8.6 and 34.9 ± 7.3 µg/mL, respectively. Fraction M12 was further fractionated in three sub-fractions M12a, M12b, and M12c. Fraction M12a was identified as di-ethyl-hexyl-phthalate, fraction M12b as a triglyceride substituted by at least two fatty acids (predominantly oleic acid accompanied with eicosapentaenoic acid) and fraction M12c as another triglyceride substituted with eicosapentaenoic acid and saturated fatty acids. Bioactive triglyceride contained in M12c exerted the highest antiproliferative activity with an IC50 of 11.33 ± 5.6 µg/mL. Biological activity in shrimp had been previously attributed to astaxanthin; this study demonstrated that polyunsaturated fatty acids are the main compounds responsible for antiproliferative activity.
Highlights
Occurring bioactive extracts may benefit human health through inhibition of carcinogenic processes and cell death mechanisms [1,2], and compounds with these properties are termed chemopreventives [3]
Antiproliferative Activity of Fractions Obtained by Partition
We have reported the presence of antiproliferative compounds, initially extracted from shrimp muscle lipidic fraction, which were obtained from fractions after a series of thin-layer chromatography procedures [45]
Summary
Occurring bioactive extracts may benefit human health through inhibition of carcinogenic processes and cell death mechanisms [1,2], and compounds with these properties are termed chemopreventives [3]. Shrimp’s muscle is rich in high quality proteins and low in fat content [6,7]; there is evidence that the lipidic fraction may exhibit chemopreventive and chemoprotective activities, including antiproliferative compounds which are capable of interfering in the cell cycle preventing uncontrolled cancer cell division. The lipidic fraction of shrimp muscle, which is composed of carotenoids, phospholipids, neutral lipids (including cholesterol, triglycerides, free fatty acids, diglycerides, and monoglycerides) and glycolipids, represents 1%–2% (dry weight) [8] of the total weight. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can intervene in the cell cycle. According to Larsson (2004) [16], one of the mechanisms of PUFAs is through the modification of gene expression and signal transduction involved in the cell cycle [17]
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