Cytotoxic Effect In Vitro of Acalypha monostachya Extracts over Human Tumor Cell Lines

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 11; p. 2326
• Main Authors: Guillén-Meléndez, Gloria A., Villa-Cedillo, Sheila A., Pérez-Hernández, Raymundo A., Castillo-Velázquez, Uziel, Salas-Treviño, Daniel, Saucedo-Cárdenas, Odila, Montes-de-Oca-Luna, Roberto, Gómez-Tristán, Christian A., Garza-Arredondo, Aimé Jazmín, Zamora-Ávila, Diana Elisa, de Jesús Loera-Arias, María, Soto-Domínguez, Adolfo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 28-10-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Acalypha monostachya; Antimicrobial agents; Antioxidants; Asthma; Breast cancer; Cancer therapies; Carbohydrates; Cervical carcinoma; Cervix; cytotoxic effect; Cytotoxicity; Flavonoids; Flowers & plants; Herbal medicine; Hexanes; human tumor cell lines; Liver cancer; Medicinal plants; Morphology; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Phytochemicals; Plant extracts; Skin; Steroids; Toxicity; Tumor cell lines; Tumor cells; Tumors; Mexico
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants10112326

Acalypha monostachya (A. monostachya) is a plant that is used in traditional medicine as a cancer treatment; however, its effect has not been validated. In this study, the potential cytotoxic effects and morphological changes of A. monostachya were evaluated in human tumor cell lines. The aqueous (AE), methanolic (ME), and hexane (HE) extracts were obtained, and flavonoid-type phenolic compounds were detected, which indicates an antineoplastic effect. We observed a time-dependent and concentration-selective toxicity in human tumor cells. Additionally, the ME and HE showed the greatest cytotoxic effect at minimum concentrations compared to the AE, which showed this effect at the highest concentrations. All extracts induced significant morphological changes in tumor cells. The HeLa (cervix carcinoma) cells were more sensitive compared to the MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative breast cancer) cells. In conclusion, we demonstrated a cytotoxic in vitro effect of A. monostachya extracts in tumoral human cell lines. These results show the potential antineoplastic effects of A. monostachya in vitro. Hereafter, our lab team will continue working to usefully isolate and obtain the specific compounds of A. monostachya extracts with cytotoxic effects on tumor cells to find more alternatives for cancer treatment.