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Anti-proliferative Effect of Melissa officinalis on Human Colon Cancer Cell Line

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Abstract

Melissa officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) is consumed as a traditional herbal tea in the Mediterranean region. The cytotoxic effect of the 50% ethanolic and aqueous extract, determined by the MTT and NR assays, was evaluated in vitro on Human Colon Cancer Cell Line (HCT-116), using Triton 10% as positive control. The 50% ethanolic extract showed significant differences after 72 h of treatment, reducing cell proliferation to values close to 40%, even the lowest dose tested (5 μg/ml). In the MTT assay, the same extract caused the lowest cell viability with 13% at a concentration of 1,000 μg/ml after 72 h of treatment, being a value lower than Triton 10%. The antioxidant activity was also confirmed evaluating the capacity of the extracts to scavenge ABTS and DPPH radicals, and IC50 values were highly correlated with the total phenolic and flavonoid content. Bioassay guided fractionation led to the isolation of an anti-proliferative compound, rosmarinic acid. Its structural elucidation was performed by HPLC/DAD/ESI/MS analysis. High dose of rosmarinic acid (1,000 μg/ml) was clearly cytotoxic against HCT-116 cells, with a significant decrease in cell number since the earliest time point (24 h).

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Abbreviations

AQE:

Aqueous extract

HAE:

50% ethanolic extract

RA:

Rosmarinic acid

TFC:

Total flavonoid content

TPC:

Total phenolic content

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Acknowledgements

We thank the “Proyecto AGL2008-01099/ALI” and “CONSOLIDER 2010-CARNISENUSA CSD2007-00016” (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación), and the “Plan Investigador de la Universidad de Navarra” (PIUNA) for their contribution to the financial support of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, C/Irunlarrea s/n, 31008, Pamplona, Spain

    Manuel Alejandro Encalada, Kelly Melissa Hoyos, Sheyla Rehecho & María Isabel Calvo

  2. Department of Nutrition, Food Science, Physiology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, Irunlarrea s/n, 31008, Pamplona, Spain

    Izaskun Berasategi, Mikel García-Íñiguez de Ciriano, Diana Ansorena & Iciar Astiasarán

  3. Department of Chemistry and Soil Science, Faculty of Sciences, University of Navarra, Irunlarrea s/n, 31008, Pamplona, Spain

    Íñigo Navarro-Blasco

  4. Department of Plant Biology (Botany), Faculty of Sciences, University of Navarra, Irunlarrea s/n, 31008, Pamplona, Spain

    Rita Yolanda Cavero

Authors
  1. Manuel Alejandro Encalada
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  2. Kelly Melissa Hoyos
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  8. Íñigo Navarro-Blasco
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  10. María Isabel Calvo
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Correspondence to María Isabel Calvo.

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Encalada, M.A., Hoyos, K.M., Rehecho, S. et al. Anti-proliferative Effect of Melissa officinalis on Human Colon Cancer Cell Line. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 66, 328–334 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-011-0256-y

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