Investigation of <em>in vitro</em> lactogenic action of selected Angolan plants ethnobotanically described to affect human breast milk

Abstract

A recent ethnobotanical study collected traditional knowledge on treatments and plants of tribes in Uíge, Northern Angola, a region suffering from infant malnutrition and mortality. Aqueous extracts of twelve different plant species (leaves or stems) collected were prepared and subject of chemical profiling. The impact of twelve plant extracts on mammary epithelial cell differentiation was tested in vitro by dose-dependent treatment of HC11 cells. Leaf extracts of Carica papaya and Morinda lucida induced HC11 differentiation and elevated the mRNA expression of the milk protein β-casein, while the remaining ten inhibited the HC11 mammary differentiation.The majority of the plant extracts did not induce in vitro mammary epithelial cell differentiation assuming that the plants might rather exert their effects on prolactin levels or on other mechanism influencing the mammary gland health. Phenolic acids and flavonoids were identified as the predominant and potentially active chemical classes responsible for the observed lactogenic effects.