Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.
Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Recent Pat Food Nutr Agric. 2021;12(1):45-57. doi: 10.2174/2212798411666200817120307.
Cinnamomum cassia (C. cassia) is an evergreen tree in China and Southern and Eastern Asia. In traditional medicine, cinnamon is widely used due to its many bioactivity effects.
The present novel study aims to evaluate and make a comparison of antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of different extractions of C. cassia bark using seven solvents having different polarities. Solvents polarity gradients start with the solvent of lower polarity, n-hexane, and end with water as the highest polar solvent. Among the extracts, acetone extract contains the highest phenolic and flavonoid contents; therefore, it is assessed for the ability to protect DNA from damage.
The extracts are evaluated for total phenolic, flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities, using FRAP, DPPH, superoxide, and hydroxyl and nitric oxide radicals scavenging assays. DNA damage protecting activity of the acetone extract is studied with the comet assay. Each of the extracts is studied for its antiproliferative effect against, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231(breast cancer), and HT29 (colon cancer), using MTT assay.
The acetone extract exhibited the highest FRAP value, phenolic and flavonoids contents when compared to the other extracts and could protect 45% mouse fibroblast cell line (3T3-L1) from DNA damage at 30 μg/ml. The lowest IC50 value in DPPH, superoxide, and hydroxyl radicals scavenging was noticed in the ethyl acetate extract. IC50 value obtained for the hexane extract was the lowest compared to the other extracts in scavenging nitric oxide radicals. The hexane extract showed the highest antiproliferative effect against cancer cells followed by the chloroform extract. The ethyl acetate extract inhibited the proliferation of only MCF-7 by IC of 100 μg/ml, while the other extracts exhibited no IC in all the cancer cells.
C. cassia showed promising antioxidant and anticancer activities with significant DNA damage protecting effect.
肉桂（C. cassia）是中国和南亚、东亚的一种常绿乔木。在传统医学中，肉桂因其多种生物活性作用而被广泛应用。
本新型研究旨在评估和比较不同极性溶剂的肉桂皮七种提取物的抗氧化和抗增殖活性。溶剂极性梯度从低极性溶剂正己烷开始，以极性最高的溶剂水结束。在提取物中，丙酮提取物含有最高的酚类和类黄酮含量；因此，评估其保护 DNA 免受损伤的能力。
使用 FRAP、DPPH、超氧自由基、羟自由基和一氧化氮自由基清除测定法评估提取物的总酚类、类黄酮含量和抗氧化活性。使用彗星试验研究丙酮提取物保护 DNA 免受损伤的活性。用 MTT 测定法研究每种提取物对 MCF-7、MDA-MB-231（乳腺癌）和 HT29（结肠癌）的抗增殖作用。
与其他提取物相比，丙酮提取物的 FRAP 值、酚类和类黄酮含量最高，在 30 μg/ml 时可保护 45%的小鼠成纤维细胞系（3T3-L1）免受 DNA 损伤。在 DPPH、超氧自由基和羟自由基清除中，乙酸乙酯提取物的 IC50 值最低。在清除一氧化氮自由基方面，正己烷提取物的 IC50 值最低。与其他提取物相比，正己烷提取物对癌细胞的增殖抑制作用最强，其次是氯仿提取物。乙酸乙酯提取物仅对 MCF-7 抑制增殖，IC 为 100 μg/ml，而其他提取物在所有癌细胞中均未显示 IC。
肉桂表现出有前景的抗氧化和抗癌活性，具有显著的 DNA 损伤保护作用。
