Inhibitory effect of delphinidin from Solanum melongena on human fibrosarcoma HT-1080 invasiveness in vitro

We investigated the inhibitory effect of eggplant (Solanum melongena vat. marunasu) extract on human fibrosarcoma HT-1080 cell invasion of reconstituted basement membrane [Matrigel (MG)]. We found that the effective component of the plant extract was delphinidin, a flavonoid pigment contained in the peel. The extract and delphinidin did not affect tumor cell adhesion to MG or haptotactic migration to MG. HT-1080 secretes matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)-2 and MMP-9, which degrade extracellular matrix as part of the invasive process. Delphinidin slightly inhibited the activity of MMPs, which may have been responsible, in part, for the inhibition of tumor cell invasiveness.