Differential Biological Effects of <i>Trifolium pratense</i> Extracts—In Vitro Studies on Breast Cancer Models

The increasing popularity of herbal supplements emphasizes the need of scientific data regarding their health benefits and possible toxicological concerns. The complexity of botanical extracts, which include thousands of distinct compounds, contributes to the challenging nature of this endeavor. In...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lucian Albulescu, Alexandru Suciu, Mihaela Neagu, Cristiana Tanase, Sevinci Pop
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Antioxidants
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/13/12/1435
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846106204727672832
author Lucian Albulescu
Alexandru Suciu
Mihaela Neagu
Cristiana Tanase
Sevinci Pop
author_facet Lucian Albulescu
Alexandru Suciu
Mihaela Neagu
Cristiana Tanase
Sevinci Pop
author_sort Lucian Albulescu
collection DOAJ
description The increasing popularity of herbal supplements emphasizes the need of scientific data regarding their health benefits and possible toxicological concerns. The complexity of botanical extracts, which include thousands of distinct compounds, contributes to the challenging nature of this endeavor. In this study, we explored the hormetic effects of two <i>Trifolium pratense</i> extracts on breast cell lines. Using a wide range of concentrations (0.1 to 3.33 mg/mL), we analyzed how extracts modulate cellular processes such as viability, proliferation, and oxidative stress on breast adenocarcinoma highly invasive estrogen receptor negative (ER-) and noninvasive ER+ cells, as well as on non-tumorigenic ER- normal cells. The cytotoxicity and real-time cell analysis (RTCA) assays showed that both extracts exercised a biphasic dose effect on adenocarcinoma ER+ and normal ER- cell proliferation and oxidative stress. We report a monotonic dose-dependent cytotoxicity on highly invasive adenocarcinoma ER- cells; the induced apoptosis was based on the pro-oxidant activity of extracts. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by high-dose ethanolic extract was observed in all cells, followed by mitochondria dysfunction. Oxidative stress parameters, such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were affected. Our study demonstrates that <i>T. pratense</i> extracts have chemoprevention potential in normal and tumorigenic breast cells by modulating cellular proliferation and oxidative stress.
format Article
id doaj-art-5e1a64e63dc042959c36c81a637a65e8
institution Kabale University
issn 2076-3921
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Antioxidants
spelling doaj-art-5e1a64e63dc042959c36c81a637a65e82024-12-27T14:06:34ZengMDPI AGAntioxidants2076-39212024-11-011312143510.3390/antiox13121435Differential Biological Effects of <i>Trifolium pratense</i> Extracts—In Vitro Studies on Breast Cancer ModelsLucian Albulescu0Alexandru Suciu1Mihaela Neagu2Cristiana Tanase3Sevinci Pop4Biochemistry & Proteomics Laboratory, “Victor Babes” National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, RomaniaResearch Department, SC Hofigal Export-Import SA, 042124 Bucharest, RomaniaResearch Department, SC Hofigal Export-Import SA, 042124 Bucharest, RomaniaBiochemistry & Proteomics Laboratory, “Victor Babes” National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, RomaniaCell Biology Laboratory, “Victor Babes” National Institute of Pathology, 050096 Bucharest, RomaniaThe increasing popularity of herbal supplements emphasizes the need of scientific data regarding their health benefits and possible toxicological concerns. The complexity of botanical extracts, which include thousands of distinct compounds, contributes to the challenging nature of this endeavor. In this study, we explored the hormetic effects of two <i>Trifolium pratense</i> extracts on breast cell lines. Using a wide range of concentrations (0.1 to 3.33 mg/mL), we analyzed how extracts modulate cellular processes such as viability, proliferation, and oxidative stress on breast adenocarcinoma highly invasive estrogen receptor negative (ER-) and noninvasive ER+ cells, as well as on non-tumorigenic ER- normal cells. The cytotoxicity and real-time cell analysis (RTCA) assays showed that both extracts exercised a biphasic dose effect on adenocarcinoma ER+ and normal ER- cell proliferation and oxidative stress. We report a monotonic dose-dependent cytotoxicity on highly invasive adenocarcinoma ER- cells; the induced apoptosis was based on the pro-oxidant activity of extracts. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by high-dose ethanolic extract was observed in all cells, followed by mitochondria dysfunction. Oxidative stress parameters, such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were affected. Our study demonstrates that <i>T. pratense</i> extracts have chemoprevention potential in normal and tumorigenic breast cells by modulating cellular proliferation and oxidative stress.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/13/12/1435red cloverplant extractshormeticbiphasic dose-response effectschemopreventionoxidative stress
spellingShingle Lucian Albulescu
Alexandru Suciu
Mihaela Neagu
Cristiana Tanase
Sevinci Pop
Differential Biological Effects of <i>Trifolium pratense</i> Extracts—In Vitro Studies on Breast Cancer Models
Antioxidants
red clover
plant extracts
hormetic
biphasic dose-response effects
chemoprevention
oxidative stress
title Differential Biological Effects of <i>Trifolium pratense</i> Extracts—In Vitro Studies on Breast Cancer Models
title_full Differential Biological Effects of <i>Trifolium pratense</i> Extracts—In Vitro Studies on Breast Cancer Models
title_fullStr Differential Biological Effects of <i>Trifolium pratense</i> Extracts—In Vitro Studies on Breast Cancer Models
title_full_unstemmed Differential Biological Effects of <i>Trifolium pratense</i> Extracts—In Vitro Studies on Breast Cancer Models
title_short Differential Biological Effects of <i>Trifolium pratense</i> Extracts—In Vitro Studies on Breast Cancer Models
title_sort differential biological effects of i trifolium pratense i extracts in vitro studies on breast cancer models
topic red clover
plant extracts
hormetic
biphasic dose-response effects
chemoprevention
oxidative stress
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/13/12/1435
work_keys_str_mv AT lucianalbulescu differentialbiologicaleffectsofitrifoliumpratenseiextractsinvitrostudiesonbreastcancermodels
AT alexandrusuciu differentialbiologicaleffectsofitrifoliumpratenseiextractsinvitrostudiesonbreastcancermodels
AT mihaelaneagu differentialbiologicaleffectsofitrifoliumpratenseiextractsinvitrostudiesonbreastcancermodels
AT cristianatanase differentialbiologicaleffectsofitrifoliumpratenseiextractsinvitrostudiesonbreastcancermodels
AT sevincipop differentialbiologicaleffectsofitrifoliumpratenseiextractsinvitrostudiesonbreastcancermodels