Antiproliferative Activity of Natural Flavonoid Fustin Isolated from the Heartwood of Cotinus Coggygria Scop. Against Breast and Colon Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract Background and objective Cotinus coggygria Scop. is a valuable medicinal plant species with pronounced pharmacological potential due to its numerous biological activities. The herb is characterized by a high content of polyphenols among which is fustin. The anticancer activities of fustin, however, are extremely weakly studied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in vitro antiproliferative potential of fustin isolated from the heartwood of C. coggygria against cell lines originating from two of the most common cancer types – breast (MDA-MB-231 and MCF7), and colon cancer (Colon 26). Materials and methods Cell growth inhibitory properties of fustin were examined by MTT assay. Subsequently, phase-contrast and fluorescence microscopy analysis as well as colonyforming assay were carried out on the most sensitive to the cytostatic action of the fustin cell line. Results The obtained results showed that fustin reduced the proliferation of all studied cell lines. The highest cytostatic effect was registered towards breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 56.02 μg/ml followed by colon cancer cells with an IC50 of 78.07 μg/ml. MCF7 cell proliferation was least affected with a calculated IC50 of 187.8 μg/ml. Further investigations on breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells indicated decreased density of cell monolayer and some morphological alterations, significant attenuation in the number of viable cells, and diminished clonogenic ability of cells after fustin exposure. Conclusion It could be concluded that fustin isolated from the heartwood of medicinal plant C. coggygria possesses marked antiproliferative properties against breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 which will be a subject of our more detailed future investigations.