title: Isolation of an arabinogalactan from Endopleura uchi bark decoction and its effect on HeLa cells.
abstract: Endopleura uchi is a native plant from the Amazon used in popular medicine to treat myomas. A crude polysaccharide (AGb) obtained from E. uchi bark decoction was purified, yielding a type II arabinogalactan (AG) that was characterized by chemical and spectroscopic methods. AG was evaluated for its cytotoxic effects on HeLa cells. AG (5-500 μg/ml) reduced cell viability at 48 and 72 h (approximately 20%) but not in a dose-dependent manner. Cell proliferation was also reduced by AG, with a 25% inhibition (100 μg/ml) at 72 h. The results suggest that the cytotoxicity exhibited by AG does not involve pathways related to the cell cycle.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Paraná, C.P.19046, CEP 81531-980 Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Francisco
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Bento
authors.forename: Guilhermina Rodrigues
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Noleto
authors.forename: Carmen Lúcia
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Petkowicz
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005685:Galactans / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000737:chemistry*; D024301:Plant Bark / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D005685:Galactans; C005653:arabinogalactan
keywords: Arabinogalactan; Cytotoxicity; Endopleura uchi; HeLa cells; Humiriaceae; Polysaccharides