Avaliação do potencial antineoplásico de plantas medicinais utilizadas como coadjuvantes no tratamento do câncer pelos pacientes do CACON / UFAL

Abstract

Plants have been used as sources of medicinal agents for millennia. Plant extracts and derived active principles have served as a major source for new pharmaceuticals for treatment of malignant tumors. In this work, we described the plants most used as anticancer agents, by the population treated on the Oncology Service of the University Hospital (Maceió-AL). The aim of this work was evaluate the toxicological effects of those plants and to value the antitumoral activity of the extracts and juices against human tumor cell lines and in neoplasic assays in vivo. Initially, the plants were collected, identified, and the hydroethanolic extracts and juices of Aloe vera and Euphorbia tirucalli were prepared. In the pharmacological approach, the follow assays were done: toxicity against brine shrimp Artemia salina, in vitro test against human tumor cell lines and in vivo evaluation using sarcoma 180 in mice. The plants were Annona muricata, Aloe vera, Schinus terebenthifolius, Hyptis pectinata, Stryphnodendron adstringens, Euphorbia tirucalli, Caesalpinia bonduc and Cnidosculus urens. The phytochemical screening showed the presence of flavonoids, tanins, saponins and sterols. The Artemia salina essay suggested moderate toxicity of the Stryphnodendron adstringens, Annona muricata e Euphorbia tirucalli. Hyptis pectinata was considered atoxic. In the preliminary in vitro assay only two species showed moderate cytotoxicity: Annona muricata (82%, 86% and 71% of inhibition) against SF295, HCT-8 and MDA-MB435 line cells, respectively and Hyptis pectinata (62% of inhibition) against HCT-8.line cells. Both plants presented no hemolytic effect and in the evaluation of the cytotoxicity activities against peripheral blood mononuclear cells, Annona muricata showed the biggest activity, although had shown bigger toxicity than Hyptis pectinata to PBMC. In the in vivo tests, Hyptis pectinata, Schinus terebinthifolius, Annona muricata and Euphorbia tirucalli inhibited the sarcoma 180 (70,5% - 67,1% - 58,9% and 57,5%). The histopathological analysis of the liver, kidneys and spleen of animals which was treated showed absence of lesions. Take together these results suggest that only two plants (Hyptis pectinata and Annona muricata) used by the population showed potential anti-tumor activity, at least in the used pharmacological models in vitro and in vivo.