Department of Pharmacognosy with Medicinal Plant Laboratory, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
Independent Medical Biology Unit, Medical University of Lublin, Poland.
FEBS Open Bio. 2020 Jan;10(1):86-95. doi: 10.1002/2211-5463.12755. Epub 2019 Dec 2.
The Marrubium genus (horehound) has proved to be an abundant source of biologically active compounds, but there is little knowledge about its potential anticancer activity. Moreover, some Marrubium species have not been the subject of study in this regard. In this study, we performed comparative analysis of phenolic acid (PhA) content and total phenolic content in fractions obtained from methanolic extracts of Marrubium vulgare L. (common horehound), Marrubium cylleneum Boiss. & Heldr. and Marrubium friwaldskyanum Boiss herbs. We examined the cytotoxicity of these fractions against a human melanoma cancer cell line (A375) and normal human skin fibroblasts (BJ) using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide test, cell cycle analysis and real-time monitoring of cell viability. We detected caffeic, p-coumaric, ferulic and gentisic acids among the PhAs. Although the extracts obtained demonstrated low total phenolic content and did not show significant antioxidative properties, the nonhydrolyzed PhA fraction exhibited cytotoxic activity against a human melanoma cancer cell line, without affecting normal fibroblasts. Both acidic and alkaline hydrolysis abolished this activity, indicating that the esterified forms of phenolic compounds caused the observed cytotoxic effects. Further investigation of these compounds may facilitate the development of novel drugs for cancer treatment.
该马郁兰属(苦薄荷)已被证明是生物活性化合物的丰富来源,但对其潜在的抗癌活性知之甚少。此外,一些马郁兰物种在这方面尚未成为研究对象。在这项研究中,我们对来自普通苦薄荷(Marrubium vulgare L.)、马郁兰(Marrubium cylleneum Boiss. & Heldr.)和马郁兰(Marrubium friwaldskyanum Boiss)甲醇提取物的馏分中的酚酸(PhA)含量和总酚含量进行了比较分析。我们使用 3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2-基)-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴化物试验、细胞周期分析和实时监测细胞活力来检查这些馏分对人黑色素瘤癌细胞系(A375)和正常人类皮肤成纤维细胞(BJ)的细胞毒性。我们在 PhAs 中检测到咖啡酸、对香豆酸、阿魏酸和龙胆酸。尽管获得的提取物总酚含量低且没有表现出明显的抗氧化特性,但未水解的 PhA 馏分对人黑色素瘤癌细胞系表现出细胞毒性活性,而对正常成纤维细胞没有影响。酸和碱水解均消除了这种活性,表明酚类化合物的酯化形式引起了观察到的细胞毒性作用。对这些化合物的进一步研究可能有助于开发用于癌症治疗的新型药物。