Comparison of effectiveness in antitumor activity between flavonoids and polyphenols of the methanolic extract of roots of Potentilla fulgens in breast cancer cells

Potentilla fulgens has been used for a long time as folk remedy for a variety of ailments without having information on its pharmacological action. The study was intended to determine the effectiveness in antitumor activity among kaempferol (KMP) as flavonoids, ellagic acid (ELA) as polyphenols and methanolic extract of the root of P. fulgens (PRE) in Ehrlich ascites tumour (EA) and MCF-7 cancer cells. The total phenolic and flavonoid content were found to be 138.8 ± 1.6 mg gallic acid and 401.6 ± 4.6 mg quercetin per 1 gm of the extract, respectively. The extract resulted in increasing in vivo survivality of mice bearing EA cells and loss of cell viability in a dose-dependent manner in MCF-7 cells. This effect may be attributed to apoptotic cell death as confirmed by flow cytometric analysis and PARP1 proteolysis. Such induction of apoptosis was achieved by suppression of inhibitor of the apoptosis protein survivin. It was observed that endogenous level of glutathione was depleted significantly in MCF-7 cells after the treatment with PRE only but not with KMP or ELA. This induction of apoptotic cell death and lowering the level of glutathione are highly desirable mode for an anticancer agent.