Avaliação do efeito do óleo da polpa de Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. ex Mart. (Macaúba) associado a nanoestruturas poliméricas em células de câncer de mama

Abstract

Macaúba (Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. ex Mart) is a native plant that is present in much of South America. It is known that the oil from the fruit pulp is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids and total phenols, thus having application in the food, livestock and energy industries. In addition, these compounds are commonly reported for their antioxidant activities, which are of great value to the pharmaceutical industry in the process of regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS). In processes of cellular metabolism, the release of species that, in imbalance, can cause damage to cells leading to tumor processes are common. Data from 2018 indicate about 9.6 million deaths worldwide from the disease, with the breast type being the biggest cause of death among women in the Brazilian and global scenario. Traditional treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy have several side effects and difficulty in acting in some types of breast cancer. Aiming to find a therapeutic alternative, micelles containing macaúba pulp oil (MP-OM) were developed and evaluated for their cytotoxic, antiproliferative and antimigratory activity in vitro and in the inhibition of tumor growth in vivo. The physicochemical characterization showed that the micelles presented mean hydrodynamic diameters of 105 nm, polydispersity index (PdI) of 0.12 and Zeta potential of –17.5 mV. MP-OM showed a decrease in tumor cell viability (MDA-MB-231 and 4T1) at a concentration of 0.386 µg/mL (C1) at 48h and 72h. No toxicity was observed on non-tumor cells (L929). The clonogenicity assay showed a reduction ranging from 97% to 81.9% at the highest concentration of MP-OM, while the migration assay (Wound Healing) reduced by more than 40% when compared to the control group. In vivo, MP-OM significantly inhibited tumor growth. We conclude that the method used for the production of MP-OM was effective for obtaining nanoparticles with satisfactory size and homogeneous distribution, and the results of cell viability, proliferation, migration and in vivo tests showed promising results for the treatment of cells of breast cancer.