Rosmarinus officinalis extract inhibits human melanoma cell growth

• Published in: Natural product communications Vol. 4; no. 12; p. 1707
• Main Authors: Russo, Alessandra, Lombardo, Laura, Troncoso, Nicolas, Garbarino, Juan, Cardile, Venera
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-12-2009
• Subjects: Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology; Cell Line, Tumor; Coloring Agents; Comet Assay; DNA Damage; Humans; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase - metabolism; Melanoma - drug therapy; Methanol; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Rosmarinus - chemistry; Solvents; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Tetrazolium Salts; Thiazoles
• ISSN: 1934-578X
• DOI: 10.1177/1934578X0900401220

Rosmarinus officinalis L. is receiving increasing attention due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidative constituents. Our recent studies showed that R. officinalis extract, containing 31.7% of carnosic acid, was able to counteract the deleterious effects of UV-R, by protecting plasmid DNA from hydroxyl radicals generated by UV-A. In this work, we evaluated the effects of this extract on pBR322 DNA cleavage induced by nitric oxide, and the growth inhibitory activity against two human melanoma cell lines, M14 and A375. The extract showed a protective effect on plasmid DNA damage, and at concentrations of 10-80 microg/mL was able to reduce significantly (p<0.001) the growth (MTT assay) of both melanoma cell lines. In addition, our results indicate that apoptotic cell demise is induced in M14 and A375 cells. No statistically significant increase in LDH release was observed in melanoma cells, correlated to a fragmentation of genomic DNA, determined by COMET assay.