Pinna, N.; Ianni, F.; Conte, C.; Codini, M.; di Vito, R.; Urbani, S.; Selvaggini, R.; Cossignani, L.; Blasi, F. Carotenoids from Different Pumpkin Varieties Exert a Cytotoxic Effect on Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells. Nutrients2024, 16, 3043.
Pinna, N.; Ianni, F.; Conte, C.; Codini, M.; di Vito, R.; Urbani, S.; Selvaggini, R.; Cossignani, L.; Blasi, F. Carotenoids from Different Pumpkin Varieties Exert a Cytotoxic Effect on Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells. Nutrients 2024, 16, 3043.
Pinna, N.; Ianni, F.; Conte, C.; Codini, M.; di Vito, R.; Urbani, S.; Selvaggini, R.; Cossignani, L.; Blasi, F. Carotenoids from Different Pumpkin Varieties Exert a Cytotoxic Effect on Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells. Nutrients2024, 16, 3043.
Pinna, N.; Ianni, F.; Conte, C.; Codini, M.; di Vito, R.; Urbani, S.; Selvaggini, R.; Cossignani, L.; Blasi, F. Carotenoids from Different Pumpkin Varieties Exert a Cytotoxic Effect on Human Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells. Nutrients 2024, 16, 3043.
Abstract
Plants, among which pumpkins (Cucurbita spp.), represent a good source of nutrients and bioactives with interesting health-promoting properties. In this research, carotenoid extracts obtained from the pulp of eight pumpkin varieties, belonging to the C. moschata and C. maxima species, were tested for cytotoxicity on SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. The results showed that pumpkin bioactives exert a cytotoxic action against the tested cells, in particular Butternut extract at 100 μmol/L concentration after 24h of treatment and Mantovana extract at 50 μmol/L after 48 h. Moreover, the carotenoid extracts also showed interesting in vitro antioxidant activity. To fully characterize the qualitative and quantitative profile of carotenoids in the tested extracts, a high-performance chromatographic technique was performed, revealing that pumpkin pulp carotenoids were mainly represented by β-carotene, mono- and di- esterified hydroxy- and epoxy- carotenoids. Moreover, the carotenoid dataset was also useful for discriminating samples from two different species. In conclusion, the results of the present study highlight the intriguing potential of pumpkin carotenoids in the development of related anticancer drugs and chemotherapeutic adjuvants.
Biology and Life Sciences, Food Science and Technology
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