Anticancer Potential of Colonial Ascidians Didemnum perlucidum and Lissoclinum bistratum Against MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cell Line

Abstract

Background: Globally, breast cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among women. Although the results of current treatments have improved, there remains an urgent need to develop new therapeutic agents. A potential source of bioactive substances with potent anticancer effects is marine biodiversity. Marine tunicates are believed to contain a variety of bioactive compounds with the most important anticancer properties. The family Didemnidae of the class Ascidiacea is known to be a highly adaptable source of natural marine chemicals with a wide range of biomedical applications.
Materials and Method: This study investigates the cytotoxic effects of crude and fractionated extracts of the marine ascidians Lissoclinum bistratum and Didemnum perlucidum on MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. The cytotoxic activity was assessed using the MTT assay at different concentrations from 5 to 20 μg/ml.
Results and Discussion: The F2 fraction of both the species exhibited the highest activity, and the results showed significant dose-dependent cytotoxicity. F2 of D. perlucidum and L. bistratum had IC50 values of 10.22 μg/mL and 11.80 μg/mL, respectively, which were much lower than those of the crude extracts.
Conclusion: These results highlight the potential of D. perlucidum as a source of anticancer drugs, calling for further investigation into its bioactive components for potential therapeutic uses.