Anticancer and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of a Standardized Dichloromethane Extract fromPiper umbellatumL. Leaves
Despite the advances in anticancer drug discovery field, the worldwide cancer incidence is remarkable, highlighting the need for new therapies focusing on both cancer cell and its microenvironment. The tumor microenvironment offers multiple targets for cancer therapy, including inflammation. Nowadays, almost 75% of the anticancer agents used in chemotherapy are derived from natural products, and plants are an important source of new promising therapies. Continuing our research onPiper umbellatumspecies, here we describe the anticancer (in vitroantiproliferative activity andin vivoEhrlich solid tumor model) and anti-inflammatory (carrageenan-induced paw edema and peritonitis models) activities of a standardized dichloromethane extract (SDE) fromP. umbellatumleaves, containing 23.9% of 4-nerolidylcatechol. SDE showedin vitroandin vivoantiproliferative activity, reducing Ehrlich solid tumor growth by 38.7 and 52.2% when doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively, were administered daily by oral route. Daily treatments did not produce signals of toxicity. SDE also reduced paw edema and leukocyte migration on carrageenan-induced inflammation models, suggesting that the anticancer activity of SDE fromPiper umbellatumleaves could involve antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory effects. These findings highlightP. umbellatumas a source of compounds against cancer and inflammation.