Abstract
BackgroundViscum album L. (Santalaceae), commonly known as mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant traditionally used in complementary cancer treatment. Its antitumor potential is mostly attributed to the presence of aqueous soluble metabolites; however, the use of ethanol as solvent also permits the extraction of pharmacological compounds with antitumor potential. The clinical efficacy of mistletoe therapy inspired the present work, which focuses on ethanolic extracts (V. album “mother tinctures”, MT) prepared from different host trees.MethodsSamples from three European subspecies (album, austriacum, and abietis) were harvested, and five different V. album-MT strains were prepared. The following phytochemical analyses were performed: thin layer chromatography (TLC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). The proliferation assay was performed with WST-1 after incubation of tumor (Yoshida and Molt-4) and fibroblast cell lines (NIH/3 T3) with different MT concentrations (0.5 to 0.05% v/v). The cell death mechanism was investigated by flow cytometry (FACS) using Annexin V-7AAD.ResultsChemical analyses of MT showed the presence of phenolic acids, flavonoids and lignans. The MT flavonoid and viscotoxin contents (mg/g fresh weight) were highest in Quercus robur (9.67 ± 0.85 mg/g) and Malus domestica (3.95 ± 0.58 mg/mg), respectively. The viscotoxin isoform proportions (% total) were also different among the VA subspecies with a higher content of A3 in V. album growing on Abies alba (60.57 ± 2.13). The phytochemical compounds as well as the viscotoxin contents are probably related to the antitumor effects of MT. The cell death mechanisms evaluated by colorimetric and FACS methodologies involved necrotic damage, which was host tree-, time- and dose- dependent, with different selectivity to tumor cells. Mother tincture from V. album ssp. abietis was the most effective at inducing in vitro cellular effects, even when incubated at the smallest concentration tested, probably because of the higher content of VT A3.ConclusionOur results indicate the promising antitumor potential of Viscum album ethanolic extracts and the importance of botanical and phytochemical characterization for in vitro anti-proliferative effects.
Highlights
Viscum album L. (Santalaceae), commonly known as mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant traditionally used in complementary cancer treatment
The following V. album subspecies were collected from five different host trees: V. album ssp. album growing on Malus domestica (VAM; Fig. 1c), Quercus robur (VAQ; Fig. 1d) and Ulmus carpinifolia (VAU; Fig. 1e); V. album ssp. abietis growing on Abies alba (VAA; Fig. 1f); and V. album ssp. austriacum growing on Pinus sylvestris (VAP; Fig. 1g)
According to ANSM [21], chlorogenic acid is a marker of V. album species, and its identification is important to assure the quality of the vegetal material
Summary
Viscum album L. (Santalaceae), commonly known as mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic plant traditionally used in complementary cancer treatment. Its antitumor potential is mostly attributed to the presence of aqueous soluble metabolites; the use of ethanol as solvent permits the extraction of pharmacological compounds with antitumor potential. The clinical efficacy of mistletoe therapy inspired the present work, which focuses on ethanolic extracts (V. album “mother tinctures”, MT) prepared from different host trees. (Santalaceae), known as European mistletoe, is a hemiparasitic shrub that is differentiated into 3 main subspecies growing on different host trees, i.e., V. album ssp. Phytochemical investigations of V. album revealed the presence of other important pharmacological compounds, such as phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids, flavonoids, triterpenes, phytosterols, oligopeptides and polysaccharides [9, 10]. The European Medicines Agency reported the traditional use of different V. album ethanolic extracts to treat cardiovascular disease [11]. Poruthukaren et al [12] described a reduction in blood pressure after V. album ethanolic use for 12 weeks
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