In Vitro Investigation of the Anticancer Activity of Friedelin in Glioblastoma Multiforme

Abstract

There are different herbal methods used for support in many cancer diseases. Lichens are important organisms containing unique herbal compounds and it is known that they have different anticancer activities. Starting from these features, the present study was aimed to investigate anticancer activity of friedelin (FRI), a lichen compound against glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) showed dangerous malignant properties within brain cancer species. It was used human U87MG-GBM cancer cell lines and primary rat cerebral cortex (PRCC) non-cancerous cells isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats in order to determine side effect level of FRI. In the experiments, cytotoxic (via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) tests), antioxidant (via total antioxidant capacity (TAC) test), pro-oxidant (via total oxidative stress (TOS) test) and genotoxic (via 8- hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) test) activities of different concentrations of FRI were tested. As a result of the study, MTT assay revealed that FRI showed higher cytotoxic activity on U87MG cells compared to PRCC cells (median inhibitory concentration (IC50): 46.38 and 1271.77 mg/L, respectively). Based on U87MG cells, it was determined a significant positive correlation between LDH and TOS activities. High positive correlation between TAC and cell viability on healthy PRCC cells exhibited antioxidant capacity of FRI. Consequently, the results obtained from the present study proved the potential of natural product with an antioxidant capacity as a source for anticancer compound against GBM.