Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

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ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL ANTITUMOR EFFECTS OF GLINUS OPPOSITIFOLIUS (L.) AUG. DC. EXTRACTS

ALEXANDRU VASINCU 1, DANIELA-CARMEN ABABEI 1, ANCA MIRON 1*, MONICA NEAMŢU 1, IOANA-MIRELA VASINCU 1, CHRISTIANA CHARALAMBOUS 2, CHRISTIANA M. NEOPHYTOU 3, ANDREAS I. CONSTANTINOU 3

1.“Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi, Faculty of Pharmacy, 16 Universităţii Street, 700115, Iași, Romania
2 .University of Nicosia, Medical School, 93 Agiou Nikolaou Street, Engomi 2408 Nicosia, Cyprus
3 .University of Cyprus, Department of Biological Sciences, 75 Kallipoleos Street, 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus

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The present study aimed to investigate the antitumor activity of two extracts obtained from Glinus oppositifolius aerial parts in MCF-7, A549, PC3 and CACO2 cancer cell lines using the cell viability, cell cycle and DCFH-DA assays. FT-IR analysis revealed triterpenes and carbohydrates in both extracts and sterols in the ethanolic one. The results from the viability assay showed that the aqueous extract had a promising cytotoxic effect on CACO2 cells (IC50 = 97.69 ± 2.03 μg/mL). Induction of apoptosis in CACO2 cells was supported by an increase in the cell population in the sub-G1 phase (55.7 ± 4.03% vs. 8.35 ± 3.85% in control). The DCFH-DA assay revealed that another possible mechanism by which the aqueous extract reduced CACO2 cell viability was an increase in the intracellular oxidative stress. Further in vitro studies are necessary to elucidate other mechanisms underlying the antitumor activity and thus to find new possible therapeutic applications of this plant.