Antitumor Potential of <i>Annona muricata</i> Linn. An Edible and Medicinal Plant in Mexico: In Vitro, In Vivo, and Toxicological Studies
Verenice Merlín-Lucas,
Rosa María Ordoñez-Razo,
Fernando Calzada,
Aida Solís,
Normand García-Hernández,
Elizabeth Barbosa,
Miguel Valdés
Affiliations
Verenice Merlín-Lucas
Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Rosa María Ordoñez-Razo
Unidad de Investigación Médica en Genética Humana, UMAE Hospital Pediatría, 2° Piso, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Cuauhtémoc 330, Col. Doctores, Mexico City 06725, Mexico
Fernando Calzada
Unidad de Investigación Médica en Farmacología, UMAE Hospital de Especialidades, 2° Piso, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Cuauhtémoc 330, Col. Doctores, Mexico City 06725, Mexico
Aida Solís
Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City 04960, Mexico
Normand García-Hernández
Unidad de Investigación Médica en Genética Humana, UMAE Hospital Pediatría, 2° Piso, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Cuauhtémoc 330, Col. Doctores, Mexico City 06725, Mexico
Elizabeth Barbosa
Sección de Estudios de Posgrado e Investigación, Escuela Superior de Medicina, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Salvador Díaz Mirón Esq. Plan de San Luis S/N, Miguel Hidalgo, Casco de Santo Tomas, Mexico City 11340, Mexico
Miguel Valdés
Unidad de Investigación Médica en Farmacología, UMAE Hospital de Especialidades, 2° Piso, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Cuauhtémoc 330, Col. Doctores, Mexico City 06725, Mexico
Annona muricata (Am) is a plant used in traditional Mexican medicine to treat cancer. In this study, ethanol extracts of Am collected in Acapulco and Tecpan from Guerrero state were evaluated orally on Balb/c mice inoculated with 4T1 cells, for cytotoxic activity (CA) on 4T1 cells, in brine shrimp lethality assay (BSLA), and for acute oral toxicity in mice. In addition, ethanol extracts were subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection. Results showed that the extracts collected in December in Acapulco (AcDe) and Tecpan (TeDe) exhibited the most significant antitumor and cytotoxic activity. In the BSLA, the most important effect was observed in the extracts from Acapulco and Tecpan collected in June (AcJu) and August (TeAg), respectively. The samples from Acapulco (AcJu, and AcAg) and Tecpan (TeJu and TeAg) showed the highest toxicity. The analysis of the extracts, AcDe and TeDe, by HPLC revealed that flavonoids, rutin, narcissin, and nicotinflorin were the major components. These findings suggest that extracts from Am collected in Acapulco and Tecpan in the month of December may be an important source to obtain flavonoid glycosides with anticancer potential specifically against breast cancer. This also supports the use of Am to treat cancer in Mexican traditional medicine.