Cytotoxic activity of glycoalkaloids extract from fruits of Solanum lycocarpum A. St.-Hil

Background Phytochemical analysis of the fruits of Solanum lycocarpum, popularly known as “fruit of the wolf”, showed high concentrations of steroidal alkaloids, such as solasonine and solamargine which are substances with potential cytotoxic activity [1]. The cytotoxic activity displayed by these compounds may be due to presence of sugar moieties (rhamnose). Since there is interaction of glycoalkaloids with plasma membrane cholesterol leading to loss of membrane integrity, resulting in alterations in its permeability what induces cell death [2]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity activity of the glycoalkaloids solamargine and solasonine purified from S. lycocarpum and commercial a-solanine alkaloid from potato sprout toward cell lines MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma cell line), B16 (murine skin) and 3T3 (normal mouse embryo fibroblasts) by MTT.