Effect of aqueous extract of ajwa dates on C2C12 myoblast cell proliferation, migration and differentiation

Abstract

Chemotherapeutic agents generate side effects or cytotoxicity to other cells that include muscle cells. Doxorubicin, one of the mostly used chemotherapeutic agents, has been known to cause a loss of skeletal muscle mass which known as cachexia. On the other hand, chemopreventive agents, which mostly derived from phytochemicals, have been known to show less cytotoxity to cancer cells than chemotherapeutic agents. However, their effects on the muscle cells remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the effect of ajwa dates extract in C2C12 myoblast cells. C2C12 cells are satellite cells or adult muscle stem cells which can differentiate to from multinucleated myotube. MTT assays had been performed to determine the effect of ajwa dates extract on cell viability. In addition, effects on cell migration were examined by wound healing method. Proliferation assay was done to investigate the effect of ajwa dates extract to cell growth. Furthermore, C2C12 differentiation into myotubes was also investigated. The results of the cell viability assay against C2C12 cells showed that low concentration of ajwa dates was not toxic for C2C12 cells, whereas higher concentration of ajwa dates (10 µg/µl) decreased cell viability. In addition, the effect of ajwa dates extract (1 µg/µl) on cell migration depended on cell seeding density. At a lower cell density, the extract might promote myoblasts migration, whereas at a higher cell density it inhibited the cell migration that may be related to the induction of myocytes differentiation. Overall, we found that ajwa dates extract exhibited low or no cytotoxicity on C2C12 myoblast cells.