Acta Vet. Brno 2022, 91: 77-85
Anti-tumour effect of combinations of three acids isolated from Taraxacum officinale
Taraxacum officinale (TO) is a well-known medicinal plant used in folk medicine for its variety of biological activities. In this study a methanolic extract from roots was used to examine its anti-tumour effect by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) viability assay on two mouse tumour cell lines, fibrosarcoma and hepatoma cell lines. Normal hepatocyte and fibroblast cell lines were used as a control. Furthermore, three active compounds were isolated from the extract, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and ursolic acid, in order to investigate their cytotoxicity and possible interactions between them in their combinations on the same tumour and non-tumour cell lines. The anti-tumour effect of the TO extract was confirmed on the fibrosarcoma cell line in a dose dependent manner. The anti-proliferative acting of each acid was described on both cancer cell lines and for the first time the combinations of these acids were investigated and their common effect in the mixtures reported. Further experiments to determine the mechanism of action and examine their action with conventional chemotherapeutics as a potential adjuvant therapy to enhance the chemotherapeutic effect and improve patient health with its hepatoprotective activity could be encouraged.
Keywords
Chlorogenic acid, ursolic acid, caffeic acid, anticancer, dandelion.
Funding
This work was supported by the Internal Grant Agency of the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno (110/2019/FVL). We thank prof. V. Suchý (MUNI, Faculty of Pharmacy, Dept Nat Drugs) for his assistance and supervision over extract isolation and for the provision of isolated substances.
