Anti-proliferative effects in cervical cancer cells (HeLa) of grape seed extracts from Vitis vinifera cultivars of central Italy

Aims of this work were identifying the anti-proliferative effects of grape seed extracts (GSE) from autochthon Vitis vinifera, focusing on their capability to affect autophagy and providing a chemical profile of GSE in order to afford a general idea of the main molecule(s) involved in these effects. Results obtained by MTT tests and direct cell counts demonstrate that only GSE from Abbuoto cultivar was able to decrease the cell proliferation rate at concentrations similar to those expected to be assumed by food intake (0.01-0.15 mg dried extract mL-1). The chemical characterization (by HPLC/DAD/MS) of Abbuoto’s GSE highlighted an appreciable amount of galloylated forms and a lower content of polymeric procyanidins with respect to the extracts obtained from the others cultivars. The growth inhibitory effect of GSE from Abbuoto was evident only in LG conditions; mitochondria represent specific targets of Abbuoto’s GSE. Western blot analyses of LC3 performed on lysates form HeLa cells treated with all the GSEs used in this study indicates that most of them were able to induce the autophagic response, although at very different extents