Abstract
Dendrobium, a genus of orchid, was found to possess useful therapeutic activities like anticancer, hypoglycaemic, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, and neuroprotective activities. The study was aimed to evaluate the anticancer property of the ethanolic extract of Dendrobium formosum on Dalton's lymphoma. In vitro cytotoxicity was determined by MTT assay, apoptosis was determined by fluorescence microscopy, and cell cycle progression was analysed using flow cytometry; in vivo antitumor activity was performed in Dalton's lymphoma bearing mice. The IC50 value of ethanolic extract was obtained at 350 μg/mL in Dalton's lymphoma cells. Fluorescence microscopy analysis showed significant increase in apoptotic cell death in dose- and time-dependent manner which was further confirmed through the resulting DNA fragmentation. Further, flow cytometry analysis showed that the ethanolic extract arrests the cells in G2/M phase of the cell cycle. The in vivo anticancer activity study illustrates significant increase in the survival time of Dalton's lymphoma bearing mice on treatment with ethanolic extract when compared to control. These results substantiate the antitumor properties of ethanolic extract of Dendrobium formosum and suggest an alternative in treatment of cancer. Further studies are required regarding the isolation and characterization of bioactive components along with the analysis of molecular mechanism involved.
Highlights
Nature is the most valuable source of therapeutic compounds as enormous chemical diversity is present in millions of species of plants, animals, marine organisms, and microorganisms [1]
After acquiring knowledge about the anticancer activity of different Dendrobium species, we identified and selected the plant, Dendrobium formosum, as there are no reports of its antitumor activity till
The ethanolic extract was screened for its cytotoxicity by MTT assay at different concentrations to determine the IC50 value in Dalton’s lymphoma (DL) cells and in normal mouse bone marrow cells
Summary
Nature is the most valuable source of therapeutic compounds as enormous chemical diversity is present in millions of species of plants, animals, marine organisms, and microorganisms [1]. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In a report by Siegel et al in 2013, a total of 1,660,290 new cancer cases and 580,350 deaths from cancer were predicted in the United States in 2013 [2]. Cancer chemoprevention was first defined as “a strategy of cancer control by administration of synthetic or natural compounds to reverse or suppress the process of carcinogenesis” [3]. Orchids are ornamental plants and they are well known for their medicinal value.
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