Cytotoxic and Apoptogenic Potential of Red Microalgal Polysaccharides

ABSTRACT

The efforts of scientists are aimed at finding anti-cancer agents of natural origin which have high biological activity, low toxicity and broad spectrum of therapeutic activity. This study was designed to determine the cytotoxic properties of polysaccharides derived from the red microalgae Dixoniella grisea and Porphyridium cruentum and to elucidate the mechanism of their action on two permanent human cell lines MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma) and HeLa (cervical carcinoma), as well as on primary culture from Graffi myeloid tumor in hamsters. Our investigations indicated that both algal polysaccharides showed high cytotoxic and apoptogenic activities on cancer cells and may be a promising alternative to synthetic substances.

Keywords:

• apoptosis
• algal polysaccharides
• human tumor cell lines
• Graffi myeloid tumor