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Cancer of the head and neck is a group of upper aerodigestive tract neoplasms in which aggressive treatments may cause harmful side effects to the patient. In the last decade, investigations on natural compounds have been particularly successful in the field of anticancer drug research. Our aim is to evaluate the antitumor effect of Tapirira guianensis Aubl. extracts on a panel of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines. Analysis of secondary metabolites classes in fractions of T. guianensis was performed using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Mutagenicity effect was evaluated by Ames mutagenicity assay. The cytotoxic effect, and migration and invasion inhibition were measured. Additionally, the expression level of apoptosis-related molecules (PARP, Caspases 3, and Fas) and MMP-2 was detected using Western blot. Heterogeneous cytotoxicity response was observed for all fractions, which showed migration inhibition, reduced matrix degradation, and decreased cell invasion ability. Expression levels of MMP-2 decreased in all fractions, and particularly in the hexane fraction. Furthermore, overexpression of FAS and caspase-3, and increase of cleaved PARP indicates possible apoptosis extrinsic pathway activation. Antiproliferative activity of T. guianensis extract in HNSCC cells lines suggests the possibility of developing an anticancer agent or an additive with synergic activities associated with conventional anticancer therapy., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research authorship and/or publication of this article and no competing financial interests in relation to the work described.

Extracts from Hortia oreadica afforded four dihydrocinnamic acid derivatives, isolated from the n-hexane extract, as well as limonoid guyanin and the furoquinoline alkaloid dictamnine, both isolated from the dichloromethane extract. The extracts and the isolated compounds were tested against some oral pathogens, so as to investigate their antibacterial activity. The results showed that the n-hexane extract and the compound dictamnine are the most active against the selected microorganisms.