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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Antitumor-Relevant Evaluation of Liquid and Microencapsulated Lepidium meyenii and Bactris gasipaes Extracts Reveals Species- and Formulation-Dependent Activity

by
Fabián Castillo-Solís
1,2,
Juan A. Puente-Pineda
1,
Diana Celi
3,4,
Henrry M. Osorio
5,
Elena Coyago-Cruz
6,
Eduardo Tejera
4,7,
Orestes Lopez
2 and
Rebeca Gonzalez-Pastor
1,*
1
Centro de Investigación Biomédica (CENBIO), Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Eugenio Espejo, Universidad UTE, Quito 170527, Ecuador
2
Facultad de Ciencia e Ingeniería en Alimentos y Biotecnología, Universidad Técnica de Ambato, Ambato 180104, Ecuador
3
Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Carrera de Ingeniería en Agroindustria, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170504, Ecuador
4
Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Carrera Ingeniería en Biotecnología, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170504, Ecuador
5
Departamento de Física, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Av. Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Quito 170525, Ecuador
6
Carrera de Ingeniería en Biotecnología de los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Sede Quito, Campus El Girón, Av. 12 de Octubre N2422 y Wilson, Quito 170143, Ecuador
7
Bio-Cheminformatics Research Group, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad de Las Américas, Quito 170504, Ecuador
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Molecules 2026, 31(18), 3286; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31183286
Submission received: 24 July 2026 / Revised: 8 September 2026 / Accepted: 14 September 2026 / Published: 16 September 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anticancer, Antioxidant, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Natural Products, Second Edition)
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Abstract

Lepidium meyenii and Bactris gasipaes are traditionally consumed plant foods with documented antioxidant and inflammation-related activities and emerging evidence of cancer-related biological effects. Accordingly, we compared the antitumor-relevant activity of these chemically distinct extracts and evaluated the effect of microencapsulation. Liquid extracts were chemically characterized, spray-dried with maltodextrin- or maltodextrin–gum arabic, and evaluated in tumor and non-tumor cell models, with antioxidant and inflammation-related endpoints as complementary responses; L. meyenii was further examined by bioactivity-guided fractionation. Chemical characterization confirmed that L. meyenii was enriched in organic acids, phenolics, and alkaloids, whereas B. gasipaes was dominated by carotenoids. B. gasipaes liquid extract showed lower IC50 values (0.27–0.63 mg/mL), whereas L. meyenii liquid extract showed higher calculated therapeutic indices (2.28–3.64). Both extracts showed encapsulation efficiencies above 97%, with microencapsulation generally reducing antiproliferative potency. Bioactivity-guided fractionation associated the strongest tumor-cell responses with L. meyenii fractions containing signals putatively annotated as lepidilines A, B, and D. Additionally, L. meyenii extract reduced LPS-induced nitric oxide production without reproducing a broad LPS-like transcriptional response. These findings support further studies to evaluate enriched constituents, clarify mechanisms across broader cell models, and explore spray-dried carrier behavior during storage and reconstitution.
Keywords: maca; chonta; Lepidium meyenii; Bactris gasipaes; microencapsulation; spray drying; antitumor activity; inflammation-related response; lepidiline alkaloids; tumor-cell selectivity maca; chonta; Lepidium meyenii; Bactris gasipaes; microencapsulation; spray drying; antitumor activity; inflammation-related response; lepidiline alkaloids; tumor-cell selectivity
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MDPI and ACS Style

Castillo-Solís, F.; Puente-Pineda, J.A.; Celi, D.; Osorio, H.M.; Coyago-Cruz, E.; Tejera, E.; Lopez, O.; Gonzalez-Pastor, R. Antitumor-Relevant Evaluation of Liquid and Microencapsulated Lepidium meyenii and Bactris gasipaes Extracts Reveals Species- and Formulation-Dependent Activity. Molecules 2026, 31, 3286. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31183286

AMA Style

Castillo-Solís F, Puente-Pineda JA, Celi D, Osorio HM, Coyago-Cruz E, Tejera E, Lopez O, Gonzalez-Pastor R. Antitumor-Relevant Evaluation of Liquid and Microencapsulated Lepidium meyenii and Bactris gasipaes Extracts Reveals Species- and Formulation-Dependent Activity. Molecules. 2026; 31(18):3286. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31183286

Chicago/Turabian Style

Castillo-Solís, Fabián, Juan A. Puente-Pineda, Diana Celi, Henrry M. Osorio, Elena Coyago-Cruz, Eduardo Tejera, Orestes Lopez, and Rebeca Gonzalez-Pastor. 2026. "Antitumor-Relevant Evaluation of Liquid and Microencapsulated Lepidium meyenii and Bactris gasipaes Extracts Reveals Species- and Formulation-Dependent Activity" Molecules 31, no. 18: 3286. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31183286

APA Style

Castillo-Solís, F., Puente-Pineda, J. A., Celi, D., Osorio, H. M., Coyago-Cruz, E., Tejera, E., Lopez, O., & Gonzalez-Pastor, R. (2026). Antitumor-Relevant Evaluation of Liquid and Microencapsulated Lepidium meyenii and Bactris gasipaes Extracts Reveals Species- and Formulation-Dependent Activity. Molecules, 31(18), 3286. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31183286

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