Antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of black turtle bean extracts on human breast cancer cell line through extrinsic and intrinsic pathway

Suresh Kumar,Sharmistha Dey,Vinay Kumar Sharma,Savita Yadav

doi:10.1186/s13065-017-0281-5

Suresh Kumar, Sharmistha Dey + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13065-017-0281-5

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Abstract

The black turtle bean (BTB) is most widely consumed legume all over the world having anticancer activity. The aim of the study was to analyse the apoptotic effects of BTB extracts on human breast cancer cell lines. Plant extract was prepared by homogenization and centrifugation. The cytotoxic effects of BTB was evaluated by MTT assay and their apoptotic effects were characterized by DNA fragmentation, nuclear staining assay, mitochondrial membrane potential analysis, annexin-V FITC and caspase 3/7 activity assay. The changes in cell cycle and gene expression of cell lines were analysed by flow cytometry and qRT-PCR, respectively. BTB extract showed cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 50 μg/ml in MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 cells. The caspase 3/7 was activated in the cancer cells treated with BTB extract leading to cell death by apoptosis. Moreover, there was significant increase in the expression of Bax as well as decrease in the Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression with in a dose dependent manner in both cells. It induces cell cycle arrest in S and G2/M phase in MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 cells, respectively. The mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased in BTB treated cells thereby transducing the apoptotic signal through the mitochondrial pathway and it also causes DNA fragmentation. Thus, it can be concluded that BTB induces the apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells through intrinsic and extrinsic pathway and can be explored further for promising candidate to combat breast cancer. BTB extract exhibit anti-cancer activity by inducing apoptosis in breast cancer cell lines.

Highlights

The importances of plants in primary health care have been increasingly appreciated due to the growing utilization of ‘alternative’ medicines
Effect of black turtle bean (BTB) extract on cell viability To explore the effects of BTB extract on MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 cells, the viability of cells was analysed by a MTT assay
The MTT assay showed that BTB extract inhibits the viability of MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 cells in a dose (50–500 μg/ml) and time dependent manner (Fig. 1a, b)

Summary

Introduction

The importances of plants in primary health care have been increasingly appreciated due to the growing utilization of ‘alternative’ medicines. The World health organization is promoting the use of medicinal plants, given their safety, efficacy and affordability. Most plants contain natural protectants, including flavonoids, which are powerful anti-oxidants that can chelate metals, thereby affording protection against an array of diseases and disorders. The use of medicinal plant extracts for the treatment of human diseases is an ancient practice, which has greatly. Black turtle beans (BTB) are a variety of common beans, belonging to the Phaseolus vulgaris L species of the Fabaceae family, and contain a high concentration of flavonoids. Researchers found that the darker the coat of this bean’s seeds, the higher the flavonoid contents. Such phenolic compounds, widely present in plants, inhibit or attenuate the initiation, progression and spread of cancer [3]. The high antioxidant capacity of colored beans (black, navy, pinto, red kidney and small red) has been investigated by using the oxygen radical absorbance

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