Anticancer activity and mediation of apoptosis in hepatoma carcinoma cells induced by djulis and its bioactive compounds

Abstract

Anticancer activity and mediation of apoptosis in hepatoma carcinoma cells induced by ethanolic extracts of djulis (EECF) and its bioactive compounds were investigated. EECF (50–500 μg/ml) exhibited significant cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells. AnnexinV-FITC/PI and DAPI staining assay showed that EECF induced apoptosis, accompanied with Sub-G0 phase arrest, ROS generation, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), increase of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. According to the HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS/MS analysis, betanin, rutin, kaempferol, and quercetin were present in EECF, and showed antiproliferative action in HepG2 cells. Among the four bioactive compounds, quercetin showed the highest apoptotic effect toward HepG2 cells. In vivo, EECF and quercetin significantly reduced tumor growth in nude mice in tumor xenografts of HepG2 cells. Overall, the presence of bioactive compounds in EECF may account for the anticancer activity of EECF, and EECF could act as a potential chemopreventive agent against growth of hepatoma carcinoma cells.

Keywords

• Anticancer activity
• Chemopreventive agent
• Djulis
• Hepatoma carcinoma cells
• Quercetin