Exploring the therapeutic potential of Quercus ilex acorn extract in papillomavirus-induced lesions

Vet World Vol.17 November-2024 Article - 24

Research Article

Veterinary World, 17(11): 2644-2658

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.2644-2658

Beatriz Medeiros-Fonseca^1,2,3, Ana I. Faustino-Rocha^1,2,4,5, Maria João Pires^1,2,6, Maria João Neuparth^7,8, Helena Vala^1,2,9,10, Cármen Vasconcelos-Nóbrega^1,2,9,10, Irene Gouvinhas^1,2, Ana Novo Barros^1,2, Maria Inês Dias¹¹, Lillian Barros¹¹, Margarida M. S. M. Bastos^12,13, Lio Gonçalves^14,15, Luís Félix^1,2, Carlos Venâncio^1,2,16,17, Rui Medeiros^{3,18,19,20,21}, Rui Miguel Gil da Costa^{1,2,3,14,15,22}, and Paula A. Oliveira^1,2,6

1. Center for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences (CITAB), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
2. Institute for Innovation, Capacity Building and Sustainability of Agri-food Production (Inov4Agro), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
3. Molecular Oncology and Viral Pathology Group, Research Center of IPO Porto (CI-IPOP)/RISE@CI-IPOP (Health Research Network), Portuguese Oncology Institute of Porto (IPO Porto), Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (Porto. CCC), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
4. Department of Zootechnics, School of Sciences and Technology, University of Évora, 7000-812 Évora, Portugal.
5. Comprehensive Health Research Center, University of Évora, 7000-812 Évora, Portugal.
6. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
7. Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Research Center in Physical Activity, Health and Leisure (CIAFEL), Faculty of Sports, University of Porto, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal.
8. UCIBIO-Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit, Translational Toxicology Research Laboratory, University Institute of Health Sciences (1H-TOXRUN, IUCS-CESPU), 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal.
9. CERNAS-IPV Research Center, Polytechnique Institute of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal.
10. Polytechnique Institute of Viseu, Agrarian School of Viseu, Campus Politécnico 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal.
11. The Mountain Research Center of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (CIMO), Associate Laboratory for Sustainability and Technology in Mountain Regions (LA SusTEC), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Santa Apolónia Campus, 5300- 253 Bragança, Portugal.
12. Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy (LEPABE), Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
13. Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering (ALiCE), Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
14. Department of Engineering, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
15. Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC-TEC), 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
16. Animal and Veterinary Research Center (CECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
17. Department of Animal Science, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal.
18. Department of Research, Portuguese League against Cancer, Regional Nucleus of the North (LPCC-NRN), 4200-177 Porto, Portugal.
19. Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal.
20. Virology Service, Portuguese Institute of Oncology (IPO), 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
21. Biomedical Research Center (CEBIMED), Faculty of Health Sciences of Fernando Pessoa University (UFP), 4249-004 Porto, Portugal.
22. Postgraduate Program in Adult Health (PPGSAD), Department of Morphology, Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), São Luís 65020-070, Brazil.

Background and Aim: Papillomaviruses (PVs) infections have been documented in numerous animal species across different regions worldwide. They often exert significant impacts on animal health and livestock production. Scientists have studied natural products for over half a century due to their diverse chemical composition, acknowledging their value in fighting cancer. Acorns (Quercus ilex) are believed to have several unexplored pharmacological properties. This study aimed to evaluate the in vivo safety and cancer chemopreventive activity of an infusion extract of Q. ilex in a transgenic mouse model of human PV (HPV)-16, which developed squamous cell carcinomas through a multistep process driven by HPV16 oncogenes.

Materials and Methods: Q. ilex extract was prepared by heating in water at 90°C and then characterized by mass spectrometry. Phenolic compounds from this extract were administered in drinking water to female mice in three different concentrations (0.03, 0.06, and 0.09 g/mL) over a period of 28 consecutive days. Six groups (n = 6) were formed for this study: group 1 (G1, wildtype [WT], water), group 2 (G2, HPV, water), group 3 (G3, WT, 0.09 g/mL), group 4 (G4, HPV, 0.03 g/mL), group 5 (G5, HPV, 0.06 g/ mL), and group 6 (G6, HPV, 0.09 g/mL). Throughout the experiment, humane endpoints, body weight, food intake, and water consumption were recorded weekly. Following the experimental period, all mice were sacrificed, and blood, internal organs, and skin samples were collected. Blood was used to measure glucose and microhematocrit and later biochemical parameters, such as creatinine, urea, albumin, alanine aminotransferase, and total proteins. Histological analysis was performed on skin and organ samples.

Results: The administration of Q. ilex extract resulted in a statistically significant increase in relative organ weight among HPV transgenic animals, indicating adaptive biological response to the tested concentrations. Moreover, a reduction in characteristic skin lesions was observed in animals treated with the 0.06 and 0.09 g/mL extract.

Conclusion: These results provide a favorable chemopreventive profile for Q. ilex extract at concentrations of 0.06 and 0.09 g/mL. This study highlights the potential of Q. ilex extract as a safe and effective therapeutic strategy against HPV16- associated lesions in transgenic mouse models. The limitation of our study was the durability of transgenic animals. As a more sensitive species, we must always be careful with the durability of the test. We intend to study concentrations of 0.06 and 0.09 g/mL for longer to further investigate their possible effects.

Keywords: acorn, antioxidant capacity, cancer, mouse model, polyphenols, Quercus spp.

How to cite this article: Medeiros-Fonseca B, Faustino-Rocha AI, Pires MJ, Neuparth MJ, Vala H, Vasconcelos-Nóbrega C, Gouvinhas I, Barros AN, Dias MI, Barros L, Bastos MMSM, Gonçalves L, Félix L, Venâncio C, Medeiros R, da Costa RMG, and Oliveira PA (2024) Exploring the therapeutic potential of Quercus ilex acorn extract in papillomavirus-induced lesions, Veterinary World, 17(11): 2644-2658.

Received: 2024-07-07 Accepted: 2024-10-16 Published online: 2024-11-28

Corresponding author: Paula A. Oliveira E-mail: pamo@utad.pt

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.2644-2658

Copyright: Medeiros-Fonseca, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.