Avaliação dos efeitos do extrato etanólico, resíduo butanólico e resíduo aquoso de Pfaffia paniculata sobre o crescimento do tumor de Ehrlich em suas formas ascítica e sólida / Evaluation of effects of the ethanolic extract, butanolic residue and aqueous residue of Pfaffia paniculata on the development of Ehrlich tumor in its ascitic and solid forms

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2004

RESUMO

The roots of Pfaffia paniculata have been popularly used for various purposes, as well as an adjuvant for cancer therapy. Recently we have shown that the powdered roots of Pfaffia paniculata promote an attenuation of the Ehrlich tumor growth in its ascitic form. The aims of the present study were to characterize the effects of the ethanolic extract, aqueous or butanolic residues of Pfaffia paniculata on Ehrlich tumor development in mice, as well as investigate its possible mechanisms. In a first experiment, it was shown that aqueous or butanolic residues-treated Swiss mice bearing Ehrlich ascites tumor presented a higher survival time than control animal. In the experiments with the tumor in its solid or ascitic forms, the animals were given, daily, the butanolic residue for 16 days (experiment with solid tumor) or 15 days (experiment with ascitic tumor). On the 8o day of treatment, they were inoculated with 2,5 x 106 tumor cells, on the left footpad, or with 5 x 106 tumor cells, intraperitoneally. The ascitic tumor was evaluated, 7 days after the inoculation of the tumor, by the quantification of the volume of the ascitic fluid, concentration of tumor cells and total number of tumor cells. The solid tumor was evaluated by the daily measurement of the footpads and morphometry of the necrosis within the tumor area on HE stained slices, and cell proliferation by immunohistochemistry, 8 days after the inoculation of the tumor. In these experiments, none of these parameters showed any alterations in mice treated with the residue. In order to evaluate the toxicity of butanolic residue, the animals were treated with this residue (200mg/Kg) for 14 days. The animals treated with the residue showed a discrete decrease on weight gain. There were no evidences of hepatic and renal toxicity, by measurement of enzymes activities of necrosis, and also lack of necrosis by histopathological analysis of liver and kidney. In another experiment, some parameters of macrofagic activity, 24 hours after the inoculation of tumor, were evalueted, by flow citometry. The animals received the butanolic residue for 7 days and then were inoculated with 5 x 106 tumor cells, intraperitoneally. The oxidative burst activated by Staphylococcus aureus was reduced on animals treated with the residue, but no differences on fagocytosis and spontaneous or oxidative burst esimulated by PMA were found. Finally, in vitro studies were performed. The effects of this residue on the cell viability, measured by the MTT assay, and on the cell cycle, by flow cytometry, in Ehrlich tumor cells were evaluated. The highest concentrations of the residue caused a decrease of the cell viability and an increase of death cell. Thus, the treatment with this residue, in vivo, caused an attenuation of the tumor development, likely due to a decrease in the ascitic fluid formation or cell death. The effects of this residue on cell death were more pronounced in cultured cells. These results point to a novel agent for the cancer therapy, but further studies must be performed to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for these effects.

ASSUNTO(S)

cell culture neoplasia neoplasias tumor de ehrlich cultura de células plantas plants ehrlich tumor pfaffia paniculata pfaffia paniculata

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