Screening of plants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest led to the identification of Athenaea velutina (Solanaceae) as a novel source of antimetastatic agents

• Published in: International journal of experimental pathology Vol. 101; no. 3-4; pp. 106 - 121
• Main Authors: Almeida, Alisson A., Lima, Graziela D. A., Simão, Marcos V. R. C., Moreira, Gabriela A., Siqueira, Raoni P., Zanatta, Ana C., Vilegas, Wagner, Machado‐Neves, Mariana, Bressan, Gustavo C., Leite, João P. V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; antimetastatic potential; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - isolation & purification; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology; Athenaea velutina; Biodiversity; Brazilian Atlantic Forest; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cell Adhesion - drug effects; Cell migration; Cell Movement - drug effects; cytotoxic activity; Cytotoxicity; Distilled water; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Enlargement; Female; Flavonoids; Forests; Hep G2 Cells; Humans; Injection; Intravenous administration; Ionization; Liver Neoplasms - drug therapy; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Lung Neoplasms - prevention & control; Lung Neoplasms - secondary; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; MCF-7 Cells; Medical treatment; Melanoma; Melanoma, Experimental - drug therapy; Melanoma, Experimental - secondary; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Natural products; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Metastasis; Organic solvents; Original; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; plant extract screening; Plant Extracts - isolation & purification; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plant Leaves - chemistry; Red pulp; Screening; Solanaceae - chemistry; Spleen; Atlantic Forest; phenolic compounds; Athenaea velutina; cytotoxic activity; antimetastatic potential; plant extract screening; Brazilian Atlantic Forest
• ISSN: 0959-9673; 1365-2613
• DOI: 10.1111/iep.12351

Summary Plant biodiversity is a source of potential natural products for the treatment of many diseases. One of the ways of discovering new drugs is through the cytotoxic screening of extract libraries. The present study evaluated 196 extracts prepared by maceration of Brazilian Atlantic Forest trees with organic solvents and distilled water for cytotoxic and antimetastatic activity. The MTT assay was used to screen the extract activity in MCF‐7, HepG2 and B16F10 cancer cells. The highest cytotoxic extract had antimetastatic activity, as determined in in vitro assays and melanoma murine model. The organic extract of the leaves of Athenaea velutina (EAv) significantly inhibited migration, adhesion, invasion and cell colony formation in B16F10 cells. The phenolic compounds and flavonoids in EAv were identified for the first time, using flow injection with electrospray negative ionization‐ion trap tandem mass spectrometry analysis (FIA‐ESI‐IT‐MSn). EAv markedly suppressed the development of pulmonary melanomas following the intravenous injection of melanoma cells to C57BL/6 mice. Stereological analysis of the spleen cross‐sections showed enlargement of the red pulp area after EAv treatment, which indicated the activation of the haematopoietic system. The treatment of melanoma‐bearing mice with EAv did not result in liver damage. In conclusion, these findings suggest that A velutina is a source of natural products with potent antimetastatic activity.