Evaluation of Antiproliferative Activity of Lac Dye Fractions against MDA-MB-231 and SiHa Cell Lines

Background: Laccifer lacca (Kerr) produces a mixture of polyhydroxy anthraquinones (laccaic acid) known as lac dye. Literature suggests that these laccaic acids have a structural resemblance with the anticancer drug Adriamycin (ADR). Hence, they may possess potential anticancer activity. Methods: This study was designed to explore the in vitro anticancer activity of the three fractions of lac dye, i.e., chloroform (C), methanol (M), and water (W) fractions, and isolation of constituents from bioactive fraction. Results: SRB (Sulforhodamine B) assay method was employed to evaluate the inhibitory action of all three fractions. However, only methanolic showed promising inhibitory action with GI50 <10; this runs in parallel with Adriamycin inhibition (GI50 <10). Two active constituents of the methanolic extract were isolated using column chromatography and were characterized using UV (UV visible spectrophotometer), IR (Infrared spectroscopy), NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance), and mass spectrometry methods. The final structure of the isolated constituents (laccaic acid D and laccaic acid B) was confirmed by 13 C and 2D NMR data. Conclusion: Conclusively, only the methanol fraction (M) showed promising anticancer activity against in vitro MDAMB-231 and SiHa cell lines compared to the standard adriamycin.