THE ASSESSMENT OF MODULATORY EFFECTS OF BLACKCURRANT (RIBES NIGRUM L.) AND CHOKEBERRY (ARONIA MELANOCARPA L.) ON OVARIAN CELL FUNCTIONS IN VITRO

Abstract

Blackcurrant fruits (Ribes nigrum L.) or black chokeberry fruits (Aronia melanocarpa L.) rich in phytochemicals that may act as potent antioxidant and anticancer agents have recently gained increasing attention. A beneficial health effect of blackcurrants and chokeberries is mostly attributed to their phenolic and anthocyanin contents. We investigated the influence of blackcurrant and chokeberry extracts at the concentration range 10-100 µg/mL (24h) on human ovarian granulosa cells HGL5 and human ovarian carcinoma cells OVCAR-3. All parameters were evaluated spectrophotometrically. Cell viability was measured by AlamarBlueTM assay, and the release of steroid hormones (17β-estradiol and progesterone) was assayed by ELISA. The results showed that the viability of non-cancer cells HGL5 significantly increased by blackcurrant extract at a concentration of 10 µg/mL and by chokeberry extract at 10, 20, 50, and 100 µg/mL concentrations. The number of viable cancer cells OVCAR-3 was significantly reduced by blackcurrant extract at the concentrations of 20, 50 and by chokeberry extract at 100 µg/mL and at 100 µg/mL. Chokeberry extract slightly stimulated 17β-estradiol release by HGL5 cells and blackcurrant extract exhibited stimulatory effect on 17β-estradiol release at a concentration of 10 µg/mL. On the other hand, both extracts failed to affect progesterone release. Extracts did not cause any significant changes in total superoxide dismutase (SOD) level determined in HGL5 cells. On the other hand, a significant decrease of SOD level was noted in cancer cells OVCAR-3 treated by blackcurrant extract at the concentrations 20, 50 and 100 µg/mL and in cancer cells treated by chokeberry extract at a concentration of 100 µg/mL. In conclusion, this in vitro study suggests the action of both, blackcurrant and chokeberry extracts on human ovarian cell functions including viability and secretory activity, and possible use for the benefit of human health.