Anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic effects of extracts on skin cancer.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Hook, belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, which possesses anticancer activities and is traditionally applied to treat skin diseases. No reports of anti-neoplastic activity on an amelanotic melanoma and associated inflammatory mediators exist.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

The biological activities, including cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory effects of extracts, were evaluated. Key compounds in the extracts were identified using LC-MS/MS analysis.

FINDINGS/RESULTS: The hexane extract of the root (RMH) demonstrated the highest inhibition of NO production with an IC of 4.94 ± 0.25 μg/mL, followed by the ethanolic extracts of the root (RME) and stem (SME) with IC values of 24.90 ± 1.06 and 25.20 ± 0.10 μg/mL, respectively. However, RMH showed cellular toxicity at 50 pg/mL, while other extracts were non-toxic up to 100 μg/mL. None of the extracts affected the concentrations of inflammatory mediators PGE or TNF-α. The cytotoxic activity of SME showed an IC of 5.62 ± 0.58 μg/mL, comparable to that of the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil, with an IC of 0.59 ± 0.01 μg/mL. The selectivity index of SME was >17.79, significantly higher than that of 5-fluorouracil, which was 0.08. LC-MS/MS analysis identified two main compounds from the coumarin group: fraxetin at 5.357 min and its positional isomer tomentin at 5.943 min.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The study indicates that SME exhibits good cytotoxic activity and inhibits key cancer hallmarks such as NO production. The presence of coumarins, identified through LC-MS/MS, suggests that these compounds may play a crucial role in the extract's anticancer effects, highlighting the potential for future development as cancer therapeutics.