Evaluation of antiproliferative and protective effects of Eupatorium cannabinum L. extracts

Abstract

Eupatorium cannabinum L. (Asteraceae) has been used for a long time for medicinal purposes due to its various pharmacologicaleffects and richness in active compounds such as phenolics, sesquiterpenes, pyrrolizidine alkaloids, and polysaccharides. Despite thehigh content of compounds that have important roles in medicinal plants, there are still limited literature data regarding this valuablespecies. The plant was fractioned using chloroform (EC) and distilled water (EA) and HPLC analysis revealed the presence of eupatorin,eupatilin, and quercetin in EC and caffeic acid and rutin in EA. The antiproliferative potential on BT-20, HepG2, Caco-2, and Jurkatcancer cell lines was assessed by MTS test. Jurkat cells were more sensitive to both extracts ($IC_{50}$ of 7.35 ± 0.35 for EC and 13.77 ±2.16 µg/mL for EA), while the other lines were susceptible only to EC ($IC_{50}$ 88.27 ± 1.34 on Caco-2 cells and over 100 µg/mL on BT20 and HepG2 cells) after 24 h of exposure. In an LPS-induced damage mouse model of endotoxemia, we showed that preventiveadministration increases the survival times of mice and leads to inhibition of proinflammatory cytokines. Both polar and nonpolarcompounds are involved in exerting these effects, but further analytical studies are needed to identify the key responsible compoundsand their biochemical pathways.