title: Bioactivity of biflorin, a typical o-naphthoquinone isolated from Capraria biflora L.
abstract: Capraria biflora L. (Scrophulariaceae) is a perennial shrub widely distributed in several countries of tropical America. The present work verified the cytotoxic and antioxidant potential of biflorin, an o-naphthoquinone isolated from C. biflora collected in the northeast region of Brazil. The cytotoxicity was tested on three different animal cell models: mouse erythrocytes, sea urchin embryos and tumor cells, while the antioxidant activity was assayed by the thiocyanate method. Biflorin lacked activity on mouse erythrocytes as well as on the development of sea urchin eggs, but strongly inhibited the growth of all five tested tumor cell lines, especially the skin, breast and colon cancer cells with IC50 of 0.40, 0.43 and 0.88 micro/ml for B16, MCF-7 and HCT-8, respectively. Biflorin also showed potent antioxidant activity against autoxidation of oleic acid in a water/alcohol system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Federal Univeristy of Ceará, Ceará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marne C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Vasconcellos
authors.forename: Raquel C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Montenegro
authors.forename: Gardênia C G
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Militão
authors.forename: Aluísio M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Otília D L
authors.initials: OD
authors.lastname: Pessoa
authors.forename: Telma L G
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Lemos
authors.forename: Cláudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pessoa
authors.forename: Manoel O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.forename: Letícia V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Costa-Lotufo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms; D005260:Female; D018922:HL-60 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental; D051379:Mice; D008938:Mitosis / Q000187:drug effects; D009285:Naphthoquinones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010063:Ovum / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D008517:Phytotherapy; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D028083:Scrophulariaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D012617:Sea Urchins
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D009285:Naphthoquinones; C040756:1,2-naphthoquinone