Abstract
Reports from popular medicine usually act as a basis for the development of new drugs from natural compounds with therapeutic actions for serious diseases and prevalence such as cancer. Bromelia antiacantha Bertol. is a species of the Bromeliaceae family, considered an unconventional food plant, found in the south and midwest regions of Brazil. Despite the high nutritional content and pharmacological potential of its fruits, few scientific studies report its biological actions. Thus, this study evaluates the phytochemical profile of aqueous and ethanol extracts obtained from B. antiacantha fruits, as well as their possible antioxidant, antitumor, and cytotoxic activities. The aqueous extract exhibited phenolic compounds and flavonoids, while ethanol extracts indicated the presence of flavonoids and coumarin in their composition, regardless of the region of collection. The ethanolic extract demonstrated a more promising antioxidant effect than the aqueous extract and also induced a significant inhibition in the viability of human cervical cancer cells of the SiHa strain. In addition, treatment with both extracts did not alter the viability of non-tumor cells of the immortalized human keratinocyte lineage (HaCaT). These results bring new data about extracts obtained from a native plant, edible and traditionally used in popular medicine, opening new perspectives for its possible therapeutic application.
Highlights
Natural products, especially those of plant origin, represent the main sources of active substances with potential therapeutic use and the oldest source of medicines ever used by humans (Moga et al, 2016; Cordeiro et al, 2021)
The aqueous extract obtained from the fruits of this plant species presented phenolic and flavonoid compounds, regardless of the collection location ethanol extracts indicated the presence of flavonoids and coumarins in their composition, regardless of the region of collection
Considering that B. antiacantha species is an edible plant, with high nutritional quality and is already used in popular medicine, studies that bring information regarding its biological potential and/or cytotoxic effects are of great relevance
Summary
Especially those of plant origin, represent the main sources of active substances with potential therapeutic use and the oldest source of medicines ever used by humans (Moga et al, 2016; Cordeiro et al, 2021). Knowledge of the nutritional and medicinal properties of a country’s biodiversity species, especially plants, has been the basis for the development of society and human survival, as they bring benefits to science and to the national bioeconomy (Rodrigues and De Simoni, 2010). Reports of popular medicine usually act as a reference for the investigation of species with therapeutic potential (Balunas and Kinghorn, 2005). Such bioactive potential is already reported for pathologies such as cancer, for which a series of important drugs, currently marketed, were obtained from natural sources (Newman et al, 2003)
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