Antitumoral activity of viniferin-enriched extracts from Vitis vinifera l. cell cultures

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of stilbenes from different cultivars of Vitis vinifera, on tumour proliferation. Extracts were obtained from elicited Vitis vinifera cell cultures and characterized by HPLC/DAD/MS. Cell growth was evaluated in 4 human cancer cell lines and in normal human fibroblasts. The cells were exposed to the extracts or to trans-resveratrol, used as reference molecule, for 48 h, at 1 to 10 microM concentrations of total stilbenoids. All the extracts showed antiproliferative activity, mediated by modulation of the cell cycle and induction of cytotoxicity in cancer but not in normal cell lines, and positively correlated with the content in dimeric stilbenoids. The Alphonse Lavallée extract was the most active, and the obtained stilbenoid fraction resulted 8-10 times more active than trans-resveratrol.Extracts from Vitis Vinifera cell cultures could represent new sources of active stilbenoid compounds to be further assayed in in vivo studies for their antitumoral properties.