Abstract 2018 The Anti-Cancer Effect of Acmella Extracts in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in females in the United States. Annually, approximately 19,710 new cases and 13,270 deaths caused by the disease are estimated by the American Cancer Society. Treatment options for ovarian cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and combination therapy, which are inefficient for many patients with about 32% succumbing to the disease. These dire statistics emphasize the need for new and efficient therapies. Plants are a rich source of natural products that may show anti-cancer activity. In fact, approximately 50% of the Food and Drug Administration approved chemotherapeutic drugs have origins in natural compounds. This study investigates the anti-cancer effect of Acmella alba, Acmella oleracea, and Acmella calirrhiza plants on the SKOV-3 cell line of ovarian cancer. The leaf, stem, root, and flower of the three Acmella species were harvested, freeze-dried, crushed into fine powder, and extracted using water, methanol, and ethanol. After evaporation at 50°C, the extracts were resuspended in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The SKOV-3 cells were grown overnight and then treated for 48 h with 0.2 mg/ml of each extract, using 100 μM paclitaxel, and DMSO as controls. The anti-cancer effects of the Acmella extracts were investigated using the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay. The results were subjected to one-way ANOVA statistical analysis with a Dunnett post-analysis for multiple comparisons to the DMSO treatment. Of the water extracts, the leaf, stem, and flower (Acmella alba), the leaf and flower (Acmella oleracea), and the leaf, stem, flower, and root (Acmella calirrhiza) showed a statistically significant (p<0.05) reduction in the cell viability. The methanol extracts of the flower (Acmella alba), the leaf, stem, flower, and root (Acmella oleracea), and the leaf ((Acmella calirrhiza) significantly lowered the cell viability. Finally, the ethanol extracts of the leaf, stem, flower, and root (Acmella alba), the leaf, stem, flower, and root (Acmella oleracea), and the leaf, stem, and flower (Acmella calirrhiza) were found to significantly reduce the cell viability. These results reveal that the Acmella extracts exhibit anti-cancer activity, which indicate that there may be compounds in these plants that may be utilized in the development of new treatments of ovarian cancer. I acknowledge John E. and Mary R. Warnock and the School of Graduate Studies at Western Illinois University for the John E. Warnock Research Scholarship and Graduate Student Research and Professional Development Fund respectively.