Curcuma aromatica rhizomes ethanol extract: A potential therapeutic agent against HepG2 Hepatoma cells

Abstract

Curcuma aromatica, a Vietnamese medicinal plant, exhibits diverse therapeutic applications including blood loss, blood stasis, bloody urination, bloody vomiting, irregular menstruation, epilepsy, and cancer treatment. C. aromatica rhizomes ethanol extract and curcumol content have been shown strong inhibition of cancer growth. HepG2 cells were exposed to different doses of ethanol extract and curcumol extract. The degree of cell growth inhibition was determined using the WST-1 assay, and Hoechst 33258 spectrofluorometric assay, while the rate of cell death by apoptosis was assessed using the annexin-propidium iodide double-staining assay. Flow cytometry was employed to study the cell cycle, while the transwell assay was used to assess cell migration and invasion. The expression of bax and bcl-2 genes was analyzed using real-time reverse transcription-PCR. C. aromatica rhizomes ethanol extract (CE) consisted of a total phenolic content value of 15.02±0.18 (mg/g extract) and a curcumol level of 849.8 ± 23.73 (?g/g extract). The growth of HepG2 cells was suppressed in a dose-dependent manner by C. aromatica rhizomes ethanol extract. Following a 72-hour exposure to an (CE) concentration of 100 ?g/mL, the inhibition rate was measured to be 34.559 ± 0.456 %, the IC50 value was determined to be 44.79 ?g/mL and the inhibition of curcumol was 50.961± 0.641 %, and the IC50=93.48. The application of CE induced late apoptosis in HepG2 cells. The CE also induced programmed cell death (apoptosis) in HepG2 cancer cells, effectively suppressing their growth, movement, and invasion by controlling the synthesis of Bcl-2 mRNA. This work gives novel insights into the antihepatoma action of (CE) and establishes a foundation for the development of preliminary anticancer medications.