Cytotoxic Activity of Aquilaria malaccensis Ethanolic Leaves Extract on Human Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia K-562 Cell Line

Abstract

Aquilaria malaccensis, also known as “Pokok Karas” in Malaysia, has various benefits and widely used in Chinese herbal medicines. Natural products such as medicinal plant have been found to be effective anti-cancer agents, killing cancer cells with fewer side effects than chemotherapy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic activities of ethanolic extract of A. malaccensis on the human chronic myeloid leukaemia K-562 cell line. In this study, cytotoxic activities of ethanolic extract of A. malaccensis leaves on K-562 cells was determined by using (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assay. K-562 cells were treated with 70% ethanolic extracts and incubated for 24, 48 and 72 hours. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of ethanolic extract of A. malaccensis leaves was observed at 72 hours of incubation; 90 µg/mL for 70% ethanolic extract. Moreover, the morphological changes of K-562 cells were observed by using acridine orange/ propidium iodide (AO/PI) dual staining assay. The results showed that the ethanolic extract of A. malaccensis leaves induced K-562 cells into apoptotic cell death mode manner. This finding suggested that the ethanolic extract of A. malaccensis has the potential to become an anti-cancer agent for chronic myeloid leukaemia K-562 cell line.