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Anticancer Properties of Different Varieties of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Leaf Extracts in Human Tumor Cells: a Comparative Study

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Abstract

Plant polyphenols are nutraceutical components with relevant biological effects on human health. They act against development of several diseases including cancer. In this study, the methanolic extracts of four date palm Phoenix dactylifera leaves (Deglet Noor (DN), Barhee (B), Khalas (KS) and Khunezi (KZ)) collected from south Tunisia were preliminary analyzed for their effects against U87 (human glioblastoma) and MDA-MB-231 (human breast cancer) cell line development. Results showed that Barhee extract (30 μg/mL) was the most efficient to reduce the growth of both tumor cells to about 40% (p < 0.05) without inducing cytotoxicity. Significantly, KS, KZ, DN and B extracts (30 μg/mL) decreased MDA-MB-231 and U87 cell adhesion towards fibrinogen and fibronectin. Using integrin blocking antibodies, leaf extracts competitively decreased human glioblastoma cell attachment to immobilized antibodies by interfering to αvβ3 and α5β1 integrin receptors. At the same concentration, extracts decreased MDA-MB-23 and U87 cell migration performed with wound healing assay. Particularly, Barhee and Deglet Noor leaf extracts (30 μg/mL) significantly reduced U87 cell invasion by 52.92% (p < 0.01) and 74.56% (p < 0.01), respectively. Collegially, our findings revealed beneficial proprieties of four varieties of date palm leaf especially those displayed by DN and B extracts that may serve as active candidates against human glioblastoma and breast cancer progression.

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Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Abbreviations

HEPdL:

Phoenix dactylifera leaves

DN:

Deglet Noor

KS:

Khalas

KZ:

Khunezi

B:

Barhee

MD-MB-321cells:

Human breast cancer cell line

U87 cells:

Human glioblastoma cell line

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Funding

This work was supported by the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (LR20IPT01).

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Author notes

  1. Mouna Chakroun, Maram Morjen, Jed Jebali and Bassem Khemakhem contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, University of Sfax, PB 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia

    Mouna Chakroun, Hafedh Mejdoub & Bassem Khemakhem

  2. Laboratory of Biomolecules, Venoms and Theranostic Applications, LR20IPT01, Pasteur Institute of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia

    Maram Morjen, Hazem ben Mabrouk, Najet Srairi-Abid, Naziha Marrakchi & Jed Jebali

  3. Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, 15 Djebel Lakhdhar Street, La Rabta, 1007, Tunis, Tunisia

    Naziha Marrakchi

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  1. Mouna Chakroun
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Contributions

M.C. and M.M. wrote the main manuscript text and H.B.M prepared the Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. H.M., N.S.A., N.M., J.J., B.K., contributed to the study conception and design, writing - review & editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Maram Morjen.

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Chakroun, M., Morjen, M., Mabrouk, H.b. et al. Anticancer Properties of Different Varieties of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Leaf Extracts in Human Tumor Cells: a Comparative Study. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 79, 518–525 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-024-01162-1

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