14E-20 |
Evaluation of Anticarcinogenic Properties of an African mushroom In Vitro |
R. RAMSEUR1, I. Goktepe2, O. S. Isikhuemhen3, and M. Ahmedna2. (1) Biology, North Carolina A&T State University, Barnes Hall, Greensboro, NC 27411, (2) Dept. of Human Environment & Family Science, North Carolina A&T State Univ., 161 Carver Hall, Greensboro, NC 27411, (3) Natural Resources & Environmental Design, North Carolina A&T State University, 207 Carver Hall, Greensboro, NC 27411 Alternative medicine is gaining more attention in the U.S. and many health conscious consumers are turning to herbal plants for prevention and even treatment of certain illnesses, such as cancer. Mushrooms are known to have immunotherapeutic and anticarcinogenic properties. Pleurotus tuberregium (PT) is an African mushroom species that has been used as a tonic and medicine for the treatment of certain diseases in Africa for years. However, limited information is available on its anticarcinogenic properties. Our objective was to conduct baseline studies to determine PT’s ability to inhibit the proliferation of mammalian cancer cells. The PT extracts were prepared using aqueous or alcohol solvent. The extracts were evaporated to dryness and resulting powder redissolved in water. The extracts were administered at concentrations of 0 to 0.6 mg/mL into human breast (ATCC ZR-75-30) and prostate cancer (ATCC MDA PCA 2B) cell cultures maintained in RPMI medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal serum and cultured in the presence of a serial dilution of crude extracts for 24 and 48 h. The antiproliferative activity of crude extracts from PT on cancer cells was measured using MTT assay. Alcoholic extracts of PT significantly reduced both breast and prostate cancer cells’ proliferation. The aqueous PT extract showed less effect on breast cancer cell growth, but had inhibitory effects on the growth and proliferation of prostate cancer cells. The greater sensitivity of breast and prostate cancer cells to alcohol-based PT extracts raises the possibility that PT may be considered as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of prostate and breast cancer, but more studies are needed to investigate the toxicity of these extracts in animal models.
Session 14E, Nutraceuticals & Functional Foods: General I
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