Antiproliferative effect of Ficus carica latex on cancer cell lines is not solely linked to peroxidase-like activity of ficin

Abstract

IntroductionFicus carica L. latex is known to have antiproliferative effects attributed to its ficin content. This study was designed to measure the antiproliferative effects of F. carica latex collected from two cultivars of Anatolian F. carica trees and explore whether the difference observed is attributable to the ficin enzyme activities of the latexes. MethodsThe latexes collected from widely cultivated two cultivars, F. carica cv. Sari Lop (SL-FL) and cv. Aydin Black (AB-FL), were applied on human prostate (PC3) and colon (HT-29) cancer cell lines. Pro-apoptotic effect of both latexes was measured on the sensitive cell line, HT-29. Peroxidase-like activity of ficin in the F. carica latexes was measured spectrophotometrically through colorimetric assay. ResultsBoth latexes showed dose- and time-dependent toxicity on the cell lines. HT-29 was more sensitive than PC3 based on the IC-50 values. AB-FL showed significantly higher toxicity on the cells than SL-FL (P<0.05). Also, 72 h AB-FL treatment at 40 μg/ml induced apoptosis in HT-29 cells by 10-fold compared to the control while SL-FL induced apoptosis by 2-fold. No statistically significant difference was observed in peroxidase-like activity of ficin between the SL-FL and AB-FL (P=0.85). ConclusionThe difference in the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of two F. carica latexes could not be linked solely to ficin activity. This suggests that other constituents of the latex might also be responsible for the cytotoxic and apoptotic properties.