Purification and Antitumor Activity of Different Alcohol-Derived Fragment Extracts from Crab Shell

Crab, a marine animal in the south of Iraq in the Gulf region, has several bioactive ingredients with potential antitumor activity. It is mentioned in Iraqi folklore as medicine with antitumor properties.

The study examined the anticancer activity of a pharmaceutically active ingredient derived from crab shells, such as chitosan and purified fractions. Shell material was dried in an oven at 200°C. The baked granular powder was extracted by the Methanolic Extraction method and partially purified as fractions. The study included two parts: in vitro testing on several cancer cell lines and in vivo testing against a mammary adenocarcinoma mouse model.

Chitosan purified from backed crab shell powder exhibited proliferation inhibition in vitro for two human breast cancer cell lines (AMJ13 and MCF7) and one mouse mammary adenocarcinoma tumor cell line (AMN3). Furthermore, the isolated fractions showed significant cancer cell proliferation inhibition in (Cal51) breast cancer cells and esophageal cancer (SKG). The purified extract showed marked in vivo antitumor activity by significantly reducing tumor growth compared to control untreated groups. Furthermore, It shows no significant toxicity on mice weight by the methanolic extract even when used at a high dose.

These results suggest that the chitosan purified from backed crab shell powder and the ethanolic fraction have broad antitumor effects that can be used for cancer treatment in clinical trials.