Analysis of fractions of Piper nigrum extract in cervical cancer

• Grant number: 19/19705-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2020
• End date: December 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Cytology and Cell Biology
• Principal Investigator: Flávia Cristina Rodrigues Lisoni
• Grantee: Mayra Carolina da Silva Ferreira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Ilha Solteira. Ilha Solteira , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cancer is the result of interaction between environmental factors acting together with individual susceptibility, environmental factors being protagonists in the cause of cancer, and hereditary factors having a secondary role. Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer death in women. Because many chemotherapies cause side effects that lead to functional impairment, there is increasing research on plants seeking the most effective and least invasive herbal medicine possible. The total leaf extract of Piper nigrum is an example, as it had an antiproliferative effect on HeLa, SiHa and HaCaT cell lines, as well as it was not toxic to them, being phytotherapy with potential antitumorigenic effect. Due to the excellent results obtained with the total extract of Piper nigrum leaf, the present work aims to fractionate the total extract of Piper nigrum leaf, to evaluate the potential antitumorigenic effect of hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and residue. aqueous solution over neoplastic and normal cells, observing how these fractions act, how these changes may participate in the tumor process and identify which has the real antitumor effect. For this, the cell lines HeLa (cervical adenocarcinoma) and HaCaT (derived from normal human skin keratinocytes), treated with P. nigrum fractions, will be evaluated, then morphological changes, proliferation index will be evaluated. and cell migration, as well as cytotoxicity of these compounds. Thus, we can understand some of the antitumorigenic mechanisms and which of these fractions have the real antiproliferative effect on the tumor and normal cells.