Stictic acid inhibits cell growth of human colon adenocarcinoma HT-29 cells

Abstract

The growth inhibition of stictic acid, a secondary metabolite isolated from the lichen Lobaria pulmonaria (L.) Hoffm. (Lobariaceae), was evaluated in vitro on three human cell lines for the first time. The cell lines HT-29 and MCF-7 were utilized for measuring the activity of stictic acid against cancer cells, while the cell line MRC-5 was selected for estimation of its effect on normal cells. The results suggest a moderate anticancer activity (IC50 value for the cell line HT-29 was 29.29 μg/ml) and a low growth inhibition on nonmalignant cells (IC50 value for the cell line MRC-5 was 2478.40 μg/ml) of stictic acid. This natural product can be considered as a promising lead compound for the design of novel human colon adenocarcinoma drugs.

Keywords

• Lobaria pulmonaria
• β-Orcinol depsidone
• MTT growth inhibition assay
• Human colon adenocarcinoma