Antiproliferative effect of extracts and fractions from the calcareous sponge Leucetta aff. floridana from the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

Three tumor cell lines of lung (A549), colon (HT29) and breast (MDA-MB-231) were used to evaluate the antiproliferative effect of ethanol and dichloromethane extracts and seven fractions obtained by flash column chromatography from the most bioactive extract of the sponge Leucetta aff. floridana. Ethanol extract showed antiproliferative activity on three cell lines, whereas dichloromethane extract exhibited low activity. Four ethanol fractions showed antiproliferative activity, which was higher on A549 (IC₅₀ for all four fractions: < 1.0 µg/mL), followed by HT29 ( IC₅₀ : 2.5 µg/mL; 2.2 µg/mL; 13.2 µg/mL and 15.8 µg/mL) and finally, MDA-MB-231 (IC₅₀ : 2.8 µg/mL, 8.3 µg/mL; 13.3 µg/mL and 20.5 µg/mL). GCMS analysis of the highest activity fraction permitted to identify sixteen fatty acids among saturated, branched-saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated of which hexadecanoic and hexadecenoic acids were the most abundant fatty acids.