Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate in vitro the antiproliferative effects of the horseradish juice and pulp using different solvents for the extraction.
Introduction: Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana, Brassicaceae) is a perennial herbal plant, which is widely used in human nutrition, as well as in a traditional medicine. Horseradish is a rich source of bioactive compounds such as isothiocyanates, that have proved to be significant antitumor agents.
Methods: Samples were prepared by the Kupchak extraction method, and the antiproliferative effects of the horseradish juice and pulp extracts were examined on the human tumor cell line MDA-MB-231 (ER−, human breast adenocarcinoma). Cell growth was determined by measuring the total protein by colorimetric sulforhodamine B assay. The obtained results (expressed as mean±SD) were analyzed by Tukey HSD test and the differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05.
Results: According to the IC50 parameter (the concentration that inhibited the cell growth by 50%), as an important indicator of the antiproliferative effects, the most pronounced antitumor activity was observed for chloroform juice extract (IC50=5.52±1.47μg/ml). In addition, highly potent was chloroform pulp extract (IC50=19.44±3.82μg/ml), as well as the dichloromethane juice (IC50=26.50±4.15μg/ml) and pulp (IC50=26, 01±2.45μg/ml) extracts. On the other hand, significantly lower in vitro antitumor effect was noticed for the butanol pulp extract (IC50=114.52±0.28μg/ml). IC50 vales for butanol juice extract, as well as water juice and pulp extracts were higher than 500μg/ml.
Conclusion: The obtained results suggest that A. rusticana is as a significant source of antitumor agents, especially liposoluble isothiocyanates and as such, it should be recommended for further use in a human nutrition and prevention of cancer.