Castanea sativa Mill. Shells Aqueous Extract Exhibits Anticancer Properties Inducing Cytotoxic and Pro-Apoptotic Effects

Cacciola, Nunzio Antonio; Squillaci, Giuseppe; D’Apolito, Mariella; Petillo, Orsolina; Veraldi, Francesco; La Cara, Francesco; Peluso, Gianfranco; Margarucci, Sabrina; Morana, Alessandra

doi:10.3390/molecules24183401

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Castanea sativa Mill. Shells Aqueous Extract Exhibits Anticancer Properties Inducing Cytotoxic and Pro-Apoptotic Effects

Nunzio Antonio Cacciola

^1,2,†

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^1,*,‡ and

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Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council of Italy, (CNR), Via P. Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, Italy

Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Productions, University of Naples - Federico II, Via F. Delpino 1, 80137 Naples, Italy

Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Via Santa Maria di Costantinopoli 16, 80138 Naples, Italy

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this study as co-first authors.

^‡

These authors contributed equally to this study as co-last authors.

Academic Editor: Francesca Borrelli

Molecules 2019, 24(18), 3401; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24183401

Received: 30 July 2019 / Revised: 10 September 2019 / Accepted: 17 September 2019 / Published: 19 September 2019

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Herbal Medicines–Unraveling Their Molecular Mechanism)

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Abstract

In this study, chestnut shells (CS) were used in order to obtain bioactive compounds through different extraction procedures. The aqueous extracts were chemically characterized. The highest extraction yield and total phenolic content was obtained by conventional liquid extraction (CLE). Gallic and protocatechuic acids were the main simple phenols in the extract, with 86.97 and 11.20 mg/g chestnut shells dry extract (CSDE), respectively. Six tumor cell lines (DU 145, PC-3, LNCaP, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and HepG2) and one normal prostate epithelial cell line (PNT2) were exposed to increasing concentration of CSDE (1–100 µg/mL) for 24 h, and cell viability was evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide MTT assay. A reduced rate in cell viability was observed in DU 145, PC-3, LNCaP, and MCF-7 cells, while viability of the other assessed cells was not affected, except for PNT2 cells at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Furthermore, CSDE—at concentrations of 55.5 and 100 µg/mL—lead to a significant increase of apoptotic cells in DU 145 cells of 28.2% and 61%, respectively. In conclusion, these outcomes suggested that CS might be used for the extraction of several polyphenols that may represent good candidates for alternative therapies or in combination with current chemotherapeutics. View Full-Text

Keywords: chestnut shells; polyphenols; bioactive compounds; apoptosis; cytotoxicity; human cell lines

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MDPI and ACS Style

Cacciola, N.A.; Squillaci, G.; D’Apolito, M.; Petillo, O.; Veraldi, F.; La Cara, F.; Peluso, G.; Margarucci, S.; Morana, A. Castanea sativa Mill. Shells Aqueous Extract Exhibits Anticancer Properties Inducing Cytotoxic and Pro-Apoptotic Effects. Molecules 2019, 24, 3401. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24183401

AMA Style

Cacciola NA, Squillaci G, D’Apolito M, Petillo O, Veraldi F, La Cara F, Peluso G, Margarucci S, Morana A. Castanea sativa Mill. Shells Aqueous Extract Exhibits Anticancer Properties Inducing Cytotoxic and Pro-Apoptotic Effects. Molecules. 2019; 24(18):3401. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24183401

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cacciola, Nunzio A., Giuseppe Squillaci, Mariella D’Apolito, Orsolina Petillo, Francesco Veraldi, Francesco La Cara, Gianfranco Peluso, Sabrina Margarucci, and Alessandra Morana. 2019. "Castanea sativa Mill. Shells Aqueous Extract Exhibits Anticancer Properties Inducing Cytotoxic and Pro-Apoptotic Effects" Molecules 24, no. 18: 3401. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24183401

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Castanea sativa Mill. Shells Aqueous Extract Exhibits Anticancer Properties Inducing Cytotoxic and Pro-Apoptotic Effects

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