Chemical Characterization and Biological Evaluation of <i>Epilobium parviflorum</i> Extracts in an In Vitro Model of Human Malignant Melanoma
2023
Sotiris Kyriakou | Venetia Tragkola | Ioannis Paraskevaidis | Mihalis Plioukas | Dimitrios T. Trafalis | Rodrigo Franco | Aglaia Pappa | Mihalis I. Panayiotidis
Malignant melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer characterised by high metastatic capacity and mortality rate. On the other hand, <i>Epilobium parviflorum</i> is known for its medicinal properties, including its anticancer potency. In this context, we aimed to (i) isolate various extracts of <i>E. parviflorum</i>, (ii) characterize their phytochemical content, and (iii) determine their cytotoxic potential in an in vitro model of human malignant melanoma. To these ends, we utilized various spectrophotometric and chromatographic (UPLC-MS/MS) approaches to document the higher content of the methanolic extract in polyphenols, soluble sugars, proteins, condensed tannins, and chlorophylls -a and -b as opposed to those of dichloromethane and petroleum. In addition, the cytotoxicity profiling of all extracts was assessed through a colorimetric-based Alamar Blue assay in human malignant melanoma (A375 and COLO-679) as well as non-tumorigenic immortalized keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells. Overall, the methanolic extract was shown to exert significant cytotoxicity, in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, as opposed to the other extracts. The observed cytotoxicity was confined only to human malignant melanoma cells, whereas non-tumorigenic keratinocyte cells remained relatively unaffected. Finally, the expression levels of various apoptotic genes were assessed by qRT-PCR, indicating the activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic cascades.
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