In vitro activity evaluation of seven Brazilian Asteraceae against cancer cells and Leishmania amazonensis.

Abstract

Natural products are a very productive leading source of compounds for the development of medicines. The aim of this research was to investigate the in vitro antiproliferative and antileishmanial activities of 21 extracts from 7 Asteraceae species. Dried aerial parts of Asteraceae plant species were extracted using organic solvents in order of increasing polarities. Antiproliferative activity was evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method, and nine extracts (43%) displayed moderate to high in vitro antiproliferative activity against human cancer cell lines HCT-116, OVCAR-8 and SF-295. Two crude extracts displaying antiproliferative activity were fractionated and yielded a fraction rich in lupeol acetate, a fraction rich in lupeol and 5,7,3′,4′-tetrahydroxyflavone-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside. The antileishmanial activity was evaluated by amastigotes growth inhibition test in Leishmania amazonensis, and three extracts showed promising activity. Phytochemical screening of all plant extracts was also made for terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids and saponins.