Native to Sinaloa, Mexico and found in Latin America, Bromelia pingiun L. is a plant that grows a fruit known as aguama, piñuela, or timbiriche. Recent studies have found that B. pinguin’s fruit carries antibacterial activity, antifungal activity, and has a potential as a functional food – providing health benefits. Recent studies have suggested that the fruit has anticancer properties; however, little research has been conducted on B. pinguin’s roots, let alone its effects on mammalian cells. The objective of this research focuses on B. pinguin’s aerial roots’ anticancer potential by testing several concentrations of the root’s extract on HeLa cervical cancer cells and the HCT-116 colon cancer cell line. The extract was obtained after a 4-hour continuous Soxhlet extraction using 4.5 grams of the plant’s aerial root and 150 mL of ethanol as the solvent. After extraction, MTT assays were conducted to test cell viability in exposure to the B. pinguin’s aerial root extract. MTT results verify that the concentration in which the aerial root is most effective, is at 2% with 55% viability for HCT-116. To further investigate the extract’s effect on the cells, a preparatory thin-layer chromatography (TLC) was conducted for seed and seedless samples. Each plate was then fractioned into non-polar to polar horizontal bands and the silica was scraped off to yield a total of 22 fractions. After extraction and filtration, each fraction was subsequently tested on HeLa cells via MTT assay. From the MTT results emerged two trends: decreased cell viability with increasing polarity of the fractions as well as decreased cell viability with increasing concentrations. Further investigation on the chemical composition of the fractions – in relation to the MTT assay results – will be conducted via GC-MS.

Natural remedies and cancer: Bromelia pinguin's aerial root extract induces HeLa cell and HCT-116 apoptosis

2019 Spring National Meeting

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