Chemical Analysis and in Vitro Antiproliferative Potential of Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae)

Natural products and especially medicinal plants, have been extensively studied and have exhibited antiproliferative effects. The species Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae) is native to Brazil and distributed throughout Australia, East Asia, and the Americas. The leaves are commonly used for the treatment of diarrhea, fever, and hypertension. However, the chemical properties and antiproliferative potential of the extracts remain to be elucidated. In this work, the antiproliferative effects of hydroethanolic (HEE) and dichloromethane (DEE) extracts of leaves from E. uniflora against a panel of human tumor cell lines in vitro were evaluated. Quercetin was identified using an HPLC, and the chemical component β-sitosterol was isolated. The HEE was an inactive extract, whereas the DEE extract showed antiproliferative activity against OVCAR-3 ovarian cells. In a bioassay-guided process, more pronounced antiproliferative effects were found for β-sitosterol isolated from DEE, which demonstrated potent antiproliferative effects against glioblastoma (U-251 cells) and leukemia (K-562 cells). This study contributes to the knowledge of E. uniflora and suggests that β-sitosterol is a potential chemotherapeutic compound.