Articolo in rivista, 2023, ENG, 10.3390/ijms242316915

Steroidal Alkaloids from Food Waste of Tomato Processing Inhibit Neuroblastoma Cell Viability

Debora Santonocito; Matteo Delli Carri; Agatina Campisi; Giovanni Sposito; Rosalia Pellitteri; Giuseppina Raciti; Nunzio Cardullo; Giovanna Aquino; Manuela Giovanna Basilicata; Giacomo Pepe; Rosario Pignatello; Carmelo Puglia

1 Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy; campisag@unict.it (A.C.); giovanni.sposito@unict.it (G.S.); rosario.pignatello@unict.it (R.P.); capuglia@unict.it (C.P.) 2 NANOMED-Research Center on Nanomedicine and Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy 3 Department of Pharmacy, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy; mdellicarri@unisa.it (M.D.C.); gaquino@unisa.it (G.A.); mbasilicata@unisa.it (M.G.B.); gipepe@unisa.it (G.P.) 4 Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB), National Research Council, Via P. Gaifami 18, 95126 Catania, Italy; rosalia.pellitteri@cnr.it 5 Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy; ncardullo@unict.it 6 PhD Program in Drug Discovery and Development, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy

Nowadays, there is considerable attention toward the use of food waste from food processing as possible sources of compounds with health properties, such as anticancer activity. An example is tomato processing, which is responsible for generating a remarkable amount of waste (leaves, peel, seeds). Therefore, our goal was to evaluate the potential anticancer property of tomato extracts, in particular "Datterino" tomato (DT) and "Piccadilly" tomato (PT), and to study their phytochemical composition. Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS) results showed that these extracts are rich in alkaloids, flavonoids, fatty acids, lipids, and terpenes. Furthermore, their potential anticancer activity was evaluated in vitro by MTT assay. In particular, the percentage of cell viability was assessed in olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs), a particular glial cell type of the olfactory system, and in SH-SY5Y, a neuroblastoma cell line. All extracts (aqueous and ethanolic) did not lead to any significant change in the percentage of cell viability on OECs when compared with the control. Instead, in SH-SY5Y we observed a significant decrease in the percentage of cell viability, confirming their potential anticancer activity; this was more evident for the ethanolic extracts. In conclusion, tomato leaves extracts could be regarded as a valuable source of bioactive compounds, suitable for various applications in the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical fields.

International journal of molecular sciences (Online) 15

Keywords

tomato; food waste; cell viability; leaves tomato

CNR authors

Pellitteri Rosalia Maria Cristina

CNR institutes

IRIB – Istituto per la Ricerca e l'Innovazione Biomedica