Antioxidants (Jul 2022)

Antiproliferative and Pro-Oxidant Effect of Polyphenols in Aqueous Leaf Extract of <i>Passiflora alata</i> Curtis on Activated T Lymphocytes from Non-Obese Diabetic (NOD SHILT/J) Mice

  • Talita Cristina Colomeu,
  • Daniella de Figueiredo,
  • Priscila de Matos da Silva,
  • Luís Gustavo Romani Fernandes,
  • Ricardo de Lima Zollner

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11081503
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 8
p. 1503

Abstract

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The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties of Passiflora alata Curtis are due to the presence of polyphenols in its composition. Our previous work showed that non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice undergoing treatment with aqueous leaf extract of P. alata present reduced insulitis in the pancreas, possibly due to its anti-inflammatory properties. However, depending on the concentration and their ability to interact with other molecules, these phenolic compounds may promote oxidation reactions in some cellular components, such as proteins and lipids, thus presenting a pro-oxidant effect. The present work aimed to evaluate the in vitro effects of aqueous leaf extract of P. alata and its polyphenols (vitexin, isoorientin, rutin and catechin) on lymphocyte proliferation and viability, the cell cycle and oxidative stress. Our results showed that T lymphocytes stimulated with concanavalin A mitogen (ConA) and in the presence of IC50 concentrations of P. alata extract and polyphenols undergo cell injury via inhibition of proliferation, with these effects being more pronounced concerning CD4+ T cells (P. alata, 3.54 ± 0.34%; isoorientin, 57.07 ± 6.4%; vitexin, 16.95 ± 1.11%; catechin, 37.9 ± 4.2% and rutin, 40.14 ± 4.5%), compared to the non-treated group (77.17 ± 6.29) (p P. alata, 77.5 ± 0.7%; vitexin, 83 ± 3.3%; isoorientin, 83.8 ± 1.4%; catechin, 83 ± 1.9% and rutin, 74.9 ± 3.2, while the control presented 53.6% ± 3.1 (p P. alata extract (46.41 ± 3.08) compared to the untreated control group (33.57 ± 1.99, p = 0.01315). These results suggest that aqueous leaf extract of P. alata and the polyphenols in these leaves represent a target for translational research showing the plant’s benefits for developing new drugs with immunomodulatory properties against inflammatory diseases such as diabetes mellitus.

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