Preliminary in vitro effects of a methanolic extract from a commercial aronia fruit product on MTT-based viability and LPS-induced nitrite accumulation

A commercially packaged dried aronia fruit product, identified by the supplier as Aronia melanocarpa but not independently botanically or molecularly authenticated, was used to prepare a crude methanolic extract. This study evaluated its effects on MTT-based viability in A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cells and J774 murine macrophages and on LPS-induced nitrite accumulation in J774 cells. A549 cells were treated with the extract alone (10–100 µg/mL) or under exploratory co-treatment conditions with aflibercept or cyclophosphamide, while J774 cells were evaluated separately for extract-related MTT responses. Nitrite accumulation was measured in LPS-stimulated J774 macrophages using the Griess reaction. The extract produced an overall concentration-related reduction in A549 MTT-based viability, with the lowest mean viability observed at 80 µg/mL (63.75%). In J774 macrophages, viability remained between 97.33% and 85.34% across the tested extract concentrations. Under co-treatment conditions, the lowest A549 viability signal was observed with 80 µg/mL aronia extract plus 80 µg/mL cyclophosphamide (46.03%). However, because drug-alone controls were not included and cyclophosphamide bioactivation was not verified, these findings were interpreted descriptively and do not establish pharmacological interaction or enhanced combination effects. The extract also reduced LPS-induced nitrite accumulation in a concentration-dependent manner, with normalized inhibition values of 25.81%, 31.34%, 53.92%, 61.29%, and 66.83% at 10, 20, 40, 80, and 100 µg/mL, respectively. Because viability was not assessed under the same LPS/extract conditions, this result was interpreted only as suppression of the measured nitrite response. Overall, the commercial aronia extract showed preliminary in vitro bioactivity, warranting further phytochemical characterization and mechanistic validation.