Endothelial cell cytotoxicity of cotton bracts tannin and aqueous cotton bracts extract: tannin is the predominant cytotoxin present in aqueous cotton bracts extract.
Cultured porcine thoracic aortic and pulmonary arterial endothelial cells were used to determine whether the tannin present in cotton bract exerts a cytotoxic action on endothelial cells. Six hours of exposure to various concentrations of tannin isolated from aqueous cotton bract extracts induced lethal cell injury, measured in terms of release of chromium-51 from the cell cultures. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that exposure to cotton bract tannin also induced time dependent changes in the morphology of the endothelial cells. Changes indicative of the collapse of the cell membrane over the cytoskeleton appeared to signal the onset of cellular lethal injury. Comparison of the toxic effects of cotton bract tannin and aqueous cotton bract extracts on endothelial cells yielded similar cytotoxicity curves. The bract curve was less steep than the tannin curve, but both products induced a maximal release of chromium-51 in concentrations of 100 micrograms per milliliter, with an equal degree of maximal lethal cellular injury. The authors conclude that bract tannin exerts a severe toxic effect at the level of the pulmonary endothelial cells and that this effect is not influenced by other water soluble products present in the bracts.
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