Antitumor-Relevant Evaluation of Liquid and Microencapsulated Lepidium meyenii and Bactris gasipaes Extracts Reveals Species- and Formulation-Dependent Activity

Abstract

Lepidium meyenii and Bactris gasipaes are traditionally consumed plant foods with documented antioxidant and inflammation-related activities and emerging evidence of cancer-related biological effects. Accordingly, we compared the antitumor-relevant activity of these chemically distinct extracts and evaluated the effect of microencapsulation. Liquid extracts were chemically characterized, spray-dried with maltodextrin- or maltodextrin–gum arabic, and evaluated in tumor and non-tumor cell models, with antioxidant and inflammation-related endpoints as complementary responses; L. meyenii was further examined by bioactivity-guided fractionation. Chemical characterization confirmed that L. meyenii was enriched in organic acids, phenolics, and alkaloids, whereas B. gasipaes was dominated by carotenoids. B. gasipaes liquid extract showed lower IC50 values (0.27–0.63 mg/mL), whereas L. meyenii liquid extract showed higher calculated therapeutic indices (2.28–3.64). Both extracts showed encapsulation efficiencies above 97%, with microencapsulation generally reducing antiproliferative potency. Bioactivity-guided fractionation associated the strongest tumor-cell responses with L. meyenii fractions containing signals putatively annotated as lepidilines A, B, and D. Additionally, L. meyenii extract reduced LPS-induced nitric oxide production without reproducing a broad LPS-like transcriptional response. These findings support further studies to evaluate enriched constituents, clarify mechanisms across broader cell models, and explore spray-dried carrier behavior during storage and reconstitution.