Abstract 5266: Anti-cancer drug development using bioactive compounds from <i>Tillandsia recurvata</i> in mouse models of human cancer
Authors: Henry Lowe, Joseph Bryant, Perceval Bahado-Singh, Errol Morrison
Journal: Cancer Research (2012)

Abstract Background: The Jamaican Tillandsia recurvata species is being fully investigated scientifically for medicinal properties and has demonstrated powerful anti-cancer properties in vitro and in vivo. Aim The scope of this study was to investigate the anti-tumor and anti-HIV effects of Ball Moss extracts, isolates and synthesized molecules both in vivo and in vitro in five histogenic cell lines: Melanoma, Prostate, Breast, Kaposi sacrcoma and B16-Lymphoma cancer cell lines. Methodology/Experimentation: The bioactive compounds from Ball Moss were first extracted, isolated and identified. The fresh plant material was collected from power lines in Jamaica after which it was thorough washed, dried in a steam oven at 70°C, then milled and extracted with methanol (MeOH). Isolation of the bioactive compounds was done in two phases. Firstly, isolates from the crude extract was isolated by column chromatography and sub-fractions processed by bio-guided fractionation. During phase two, advanced separation technologies, including HPLC, supercritical fluid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, were used followed by LC/MS and finally NMR. The bioassays of the isolated fractions were tested against the five different histogenic cancer cell lines in vitro using trypan blue exclusion and 3H Thymidine incorporation assays. The in vivo studies included 10 nude mice per group and using the crude form of the extract at 10mg per mice per day for 7 days. The extracts were tested in vivo against the same tumor cell lines and compared to controls administered normal saline treatment. Results: Utilizing the bioassay-guided fractionation process, the bioactive moiety was isolated at 98% purity. This purified compound tested in vitro demonstrated to be highly effective at a rate of in excess of 95% cell kill in the 5 different histogenic cell lines. The in vivo studies were equally impressive utilizing the crude extract. All 5 different tumors responded to the treatment by reducing the tumor size from 0.4mm X 0.4mm to almost non-existent on gross examinations of tumor cell lines (see images below). While the histological assessment using immuno-histochemical staining revealed that 90 to 95% of the tumors had undergone cell death cell which was due to apoptosis. There were no observations in the animals of any indications of any toxicity in the in vivo studies. The representative sample of gross tumors from a xenograft of the growth of Kaposi Sarcoma in nude mice and the histological results showing extensive necrosis following the use of Ball Moss extract and the immune-histochemistry, demonstrated cell death by apoptosis. It is to be noted that the treatments of all 5 cancer cell demonstrated the same level of bioactivity. Discussion/Conclusion: The findings from this study strongly indicate that these newly extracted compounds have significant anti-cancer / anti-HIV properties. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5266. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5266