Cytotoxic Activity of tropane alkaloides of Species of Erythroxylum.

Abstract

Erythroxylaceae is a family composed of four genera being Erythroxylum the only one represented in the Neotropical region. Chemical studies indicate the presence of alkaloids, terpenes, flavonoids and phenolic compounds as main compounds. The incorporation of cytotoxic activity assays of natural products using cell cultures assists in the selection of potential chemotherapeutic agents. In this work we describe a revision of the cytotoxicity evaluation studies performed with extracts and/or pure substances obtained from Erythroxylum species through an integrative review. We have found studies that evaluated the cytotoxic activity of 21 species of Erythroxylum against 45 different cell lines, the analysis of the chemical composition of these species shows that the metabolites present in each species influence the cytotoxic potential of them, especially the presence of disubstituted tropane alkaloids species with the highest cytotoxic potential. MTT and Sulforrodamine B assays were the main in vitro tests used for the evaluation of the cytotoxic activities. From the total of species, less than 10% of the Erythroxylum species have already been evaluated for the cytotoxic activity, four of them showed high cytotoxic activity according to with the criteria of the NCI plant screening program. Thus, this genus represents a potential source of natural products with antitumor activity.