Breast Cancer Chemopreventive Activity of Polysaccharides from Starfish In Vitro

Polysaccharides from the starfish Asterina pectinifera were assessed in vitro for their chemopreventive potential in human breast cancer. The polysaccharides from A. pectinifera inhibited cell proliferation in the estrogen receptor-positive (MCF-7) and estrogen receptor-negative (MDA-MB-231) human breast carcinoma cell lines. In addition, the polysaccharides were found to be an inhibitor of cytochrome P450 1A1-mediated ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity, and caused a dose-dependent inhibition of aromatase activity in microsomes isolated from a human placenta. There was a significant reduction in the ornithine decarboxylase activity to 30.7% of the control in the polysaccharide-treated MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Therefore, the polysaccharides from A. pectinifera merit further investigation with respect to breast cancer chemoprevention.