PROFILING PHYTOCHEMICALS FOUND IN LEAF EXTRACTS OF THE APONOGETON MADAGASCARIENSIS AND INVESTIGATING THEIR ANTICANCER EFFECTS IN TRIPLE-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER CELLS

Abstract

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 10 – 20 % of all breast cancer diagnoses. TNBC is a subtype of cancer that does not have targeted therapies available. An increasing amount of evidence has shown that plant phytochemicals possess anticancer activities. Previous work has demonstrated that phytochemicals extracted from A. madagascariensis (lace plant) exhibit apoptotic characteristics in TNBC. The following work investigated the anticancer activity of leaf extracts from the lace plant in MDA-MB-231 cells and profiled phytochemicals in the extracts. The results of this work show that phytochemicals present in lace plant extracts show promising anticancer activity in the MDA-MB-231 cell line. This work is the first to profile the phytochemical metabolome of the lace plant and showcase the anticancer potential of lace plant extracts. The findings of this work will improve our understanding of phytochemicals and their potential in developing novel drugs for the treatment of TNBC.