White mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), friend or foe: Cytotoxic and mutagenic activities in vitro and in vivo

• Aqueous extract of S.sclerotiorum (AESS) stimulates apoptotic and oxidative effects.
• AESS increases mutagenic effects up to 288%, according to micronucleus test in vivo.
• AESS IC50 in non-cancer cells (0.016 ppm) is higher than in cancer cells (0.05 ppm).
• A chemical profile of alkaloids and isocoumarins was determined.

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a white mold whose contamination is widely spread in legumes for human consumption including beans, soybeans, peas, potatoes and seed plants. As fungal secondary metabolites are known for their toxicological activities and therapeutic effects, this study investigated the chemical profile, mutagenicity and cytotoxicity of an aqueous extract of S.sclerotiorum (AESS). A chemical profile of alkaloids, carbohydrates and isocoumarins was determined by NMR and UHPLC-UV-DAD-HRMS analysis. For colon adenocarcinoma HT-29 and non-cancer CCD-18Co cell lines, cytotoxic IC50 was 0.01598 and 0.04712 ppm, and ROS generation were induced up to 22–51% and 12–21%, respectively. Genes including FAS, FASL, Caspases, PARP, p53, BAX, BIM and SURVIVIN mRNA involved in the apoptosis were upregulated up to 150–350% in both cells at 0.005–0.02 ppm of AESS. In vivo study, the percentage of micronuclei was increased to 288% at 1000 mg/kg b.w., indicating mutagenic effects. AESS did not cause breaks in DNA, as shown by the comet assay. As conclusions, AESS possesses cytotoxic activities where the IC50 in non-cancer cells is higher when compared to cancer cells, which may be useful in cancer treatment.

This figure shows the main aspects of experimental design and results of S. sclerotiorum study, highlighting the chemical analysis, the in vivo and in vitro study. CCD18-Co and HT29 pictures are from ATCC's gallery (http://www.atcc.org/products/all/CRL-1459.aspx#characteristics).Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide