Avaliação do efeito antitumoral de extratos e alcalóides de Habranthus robustus em linhagens tumorais

Abstract

Cancer is a heterogeneous disease characterized by uncontrolled cell proliferation, with the ability to invade other tissues and compromise body functions. In Brazil, the most prevalent types include non-melanoma skin, lung, breast, colorectal cancer and leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute (INCA). The present study evaluated the in vitro antitumor activity of the crude extract of bulbs and leaves, in addition to the haemantidine alkaloids and its derivative, isolated from Habranthus robustus, against the cell lines KG1 (acute myeloid leukemia), K562 (chronic myeloid leukemia) and B16F10 (metastatic melanoma). The extracts and alkaloids were prepared by the Chemistry Department of UFES, sent to UFMS where they were diluted in DMSO and tested on the cell lines grown in RPMI medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum (10%), penicillin and streptomycin. Cells were treated with concentrations of 1000 to 1.56 μg/ml, and cell viability was measured by spectrophotometry (570 nm) using resazurin. Doxorubicin (0.078 to 5 μM) was used as a positive control for death and the NIH/3T3 cell line (murine fibroblast) as a control for healthy cells. Quadruplicate assays were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey's post-test, adopting a significance level of 5%. The results demonstrated that the bulb extract showed greater antitumor activity, especially against KG1 (IC50=14.79 μg/ml; IS=4.13). Haemantidine showed efficacy against KG1 (IC50=6.80 μg/ml; IS=147.03), while its derivative was more active against K562 (IC50=358.10 μg/ml; IS=2.56). It is concluded that H. robustus possesses bioactive molecules with antitumor potential. Future studies should focus on the isolation and characterization of these substances, in addition to expanding the tests to other tumor cell lines, aiming at the development of new anticancer therapies.