Antiproliferative Effect from the Mexican Poleo (Hedeoma drummondii) Ezequiel Viveros-Valdez, 1,2 Catalina Rivas-Morales, 1 Azucena Oranday-Ca ´rdenas, 1 Jorge Castro-Garza, 2 and Pilar Carranza-Rosales 2 1 Departamento de Quı ´mica, Facultad de Ciencias Biolo ´gicas, Universidad Auto ´noma de Nuevo Leo ´n, San Nicola ´s de los Garza; and 2 Divisio ´n de Biologı ´a Celular y Molecular, Centro de Investigacio ´n Biome ´dica del Noreste, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey, Nuevo Leo ´n, Me´xico ABSTRACT Hedeoma drummondii (poleo) has been used by Mexicans to prepare a tea for its pleasant taste. The me- thanolic extract, polar fractions, and major antioxidant compounds of the Mexican herbal tea obtained from aerial parts of H. drummondii (‘‘poleo’’) showed antiproliferative effects against the cancer cell lines MCF-7 (human breast) and HeLa (human cervix). Phenolic acids isolated from poleo have significant antiproliferative effects with caffeic acid the most potent. This evidence suggests that herbal poleo tea may have chemopreventive properties. KEY WORDS:  antioxidants  caffeic acid  Hedeoma drummondii  Lamiaceae  phenolic acid  spice  tea H erbal teas and spices are an important group of products with nutraceutical properties used to provide protection against degenerative diseases. Some of these homeopathic remedies contain Lamiaceae, which is a large family of aromatic plants used as culinary spices and medicinal herbs with nutraceutical properties, like oreg- ano (Origanum vulgare L.), 1,2 rosemary (Rosmarinus offi- cinalis L.), 2,3 sage (Salvia officinalis L.), 2 and ‘‘zamarrilla’’ (Teucrium polium L.). 4 Hedeoma drummondii is a small plant (4–15 inches tall) belonging to the Lamiaceae family; it has a very strong and pleasant mint aroma. This plant is found in North America, and aerial parts are used by North American Amerindians to treat the flu and also as a spicy condiment in soups. 5,6 In the northeast of Mexico, it is used as a spice to marinate meat and as a condiment to cook different dishes, in the same way like other Lamiaceae 7 such as R. officinalis and Thymus vulgaris. People frequently use H. drummondii to prepare an aromatic tea infusion like green tea (Camellia sinesis), mate tea (Ilex paraguayensis), and peppermint (Mentha piperita); in Mexico ‘‘poleo’’ is used for medical purpose to treat insomnia. 8 The amount of poleo depends on the flavor preference of individuals; usually 10 g=cup is used. The chemical composition of the essential oil consists mainly of the monoterpenes pulegone and menthol. 9 Also, other components like sideritoflavone, luteolin-7-O-glucoside, and caffeic, chlorogenic, rosmarinic, and p-hydroxybenzoic acids have been identified. 10 Many natural compounds, par- ticularly plant products and dietary constituents, exhibit anti- oxidant and cancer chemopreventive activities, both in vitro and in vivo. Experimental studies and clinical trials have demonstrated the beneficial effects of isoflavone, curcumin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, resveratrol, indole-3-carbinol, and 3,3’-diindolyl-methane in prevention and treatment of can- cer. 11 Previously, we reported that ‘‘poleo’’ herbal tea was a good source of antioxidants. 10 As a follow-up, the aim of this study was to assess the antiproliferative activity from the crude extract, polar fractions, and major antioxidant constituents isolated from the Mexican aromatic plant H. drummondii against cancer cell lines from cervix (HeLa; ATCC number HTB-22) and breast (MCF-7; ATCC number CCL-2). The aerial parts of H. drummondii (Benth) were collected in Allende, NL, Mexico during May and June 2005. A dried specimen (voucher specimen number 024244) was depos- ited in the ethnobotanical collection of the Herbarium of the Facultad de Ciencias Biolo ´gicas, Universidad Auto ´noma de Nuevo Leo ´n, San Nicola ´s de los Garza, NL, Mexico. Extraction and separation into different fractions were carried out as follows: 1 kg of dried plant was extracted with 1 L of methanol (324 hours) by maceration. The extracts were dried under reduced temperature and pressure, pro- ducing a dry extract (95 g). The extract was extracted with dichloromethane (DCM) (4500 mL) to afford a DCM- soluble and a DCM-insoluble fraction. The DCM-insoluble portion of the extract (29.21 g) was resuspended in DCM:methanol (1:1 vol=vol) (3500 mL), yielding a sol- uble and an insoluble fraction. The insoluble fraction (13.67 g) was dissolved in methanol:water (1:1 vol=vol) and permeated through a Sephadex LH-20 column (60.55 cm; Manuscript received 10 February 2009. Revision accepted 15 August 2009. Address correspondence to: Dra. Pilar Carranza-Rosales, Centro de Investigacio ´n Biome ´dica del Noreste, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Administracio ´n de Correos No. 4, Apartado Postal 020, Colonia Independencia, Monterrey, NL, C.P. 64720, Me ´xico, E-mail: pilarcarranza@cibinmty.net JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL FOOD J Med Food 13 (3) 2010, 740–742 # Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition DOI: 10.1089=jmf.2009.0041 740