Study of potential anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant effects of plant extracts

One of the main etiological factors in the development of some malignant tumours is the presence of chronic inflammatory processes. A number of biomedical studies have confirmed the anticarcinogenic effect of anti-inflammatory drugs with respect to colon cancers. In addition, some biologically active substances present in medicinal plants have been found to exhibit both anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant activity. In this paper, we investigate potential anticarcinogenic effects of extracts obtained from plant raw materials, including lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), raspberry (Rubus idaeus), black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), grape seeds (Vitis L.), grape pomace (Vitis L.), Krasnodar green tea (Camellia sinensis), ginseng (Panax L.), fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) and coffee (Coffea arabica). The effect of these extracts on the growth and viability of colon HCT-116 cancer cells was assessed in vitro using the method of MTT assay. In addition, the effect of non-toxic doses of the extracts under study on the basal and induced levels of pro-inflammatory gene expression - cyclooxygenase (COX2), inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and interleukin 8 (IL8) - was assessed by quantitative PCR. The working concentrations of the extracts under study for HCT-116 cells were determined. It is demonstrated that all investigated extracts are capable of suppressing the expression of COX-2, iNOS and IL-8. Black chokeberry and fireweed extracts exhibit the most pronounced total inhibitory effect on the expression of these inflammatory genes. Future research should investigate effects of black chokeberry and fireweed extracts on the induced expression of COX-2, iNOS and IL-8 and their anti-carcinogenic activity in vivo. The antioxidant activity determined using DPPH and FRAP was the highest for black chokeberry, raspberry and fireweed. A relationship between the anticarcinogenic and antioxidant effects of the extracts under study was revealed.