Abstract
BackgroundPiper sarmentosum, locally known as kaduk is belonging to the family of Piperaceae. It is our interest to evaluate their effect on human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) for the potential of anticarcinogenic activity.ResultsThe anticarcinogenic activity of an ethanolic extract from Piper sarmentosum in HepG2 and non-malignant Chang's liver cell lines has been previously determined using (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide) (MTT) assays, where the IC50 value was used as a parameter for cytotoxicity. The ethanolic extract that showed anticarcinogenic properties in HepG2 cells had an IC50 of 12.5 μg mL-1, while IC50 values in the non-malignant Chang's liver cell line were greater than 30 μg mL-1. Apoptotic morphological changes in HepG2 cells were observed using an inverted microscope and showed chromatin condensation, cell shrinkage and apoptotic bodies following May-Grunwald-Giemsa's staining. The percentage of apoptotic cells in the overall population (apoptotic index) showed a continuously significant increase (p < 0.05) in 12.5 μg mL-1 ethanolic extract-treated cells at 24, 48 and 72 hours compared to controls (untreated cells). Following acridine orange and ethidium bromide staining, treatment with 10, 12 and 14 μg mL-1 of ethanolic extracts caused typical apoptotic morphological changes in HepG2 cells. Molecular analysis of DNA fragmentation was used to examine intrinsic apoptosis induced by the ethanolic extracts. These results showed a typical intrinsic apoptotic characterisation, which included fragmentation of nuclear DNA in ethanolic extract-treated HepG2 cells. However, the non-malignant Chang's liver cell line produced no DNA fragmentation. In addition, the DNA genome was similarly intact for both the untreated non-malignant Chang's liver and HepG2 cell lines.ConclusionTherefore, our results suggest that the ethanolic extract from P. sarmentosum induced anticarcinogenic activity through an intrinsic apoptosis pathway in HepG2 cells in vitro.
Highlights
IntroductionLocally known as kaduk is belonging to the family of Piperaceae
Piper sarmentosum, locally known as kaduk is belonging to the family of Piperaceae
Cytotoxic activity of P. sarmentosum ethanolic extract on cells In this study, we investigated the effects of a crude ethanolic extract from P. sarmentosum in Human hepatoma cell line (HepG2) and nonmalignant Chang's liver cell lines
Summary
Locally known as kaduk is belonging to the family of Piperaceae. Human hepatocellular carcinoma is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the fourth most common cause of cancer-associated mortality [1]. The development of chemotherapeutic or chemopreventive agents for hepatocellular carcinoma is important in order to help reduce the mortality caused by this disease [3]. Some studies have reported that extracts from natural products such as fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs have positive effects against cancer compared with chemotherapy or recent hormonal treatments [5]. Some Piper species are used in folk medicine to treat many diseases, including fever, jaundice, rheumatism and neuralgia [7]. In Malaysia, P. sarmentosum is locally known as kaduk and is commonly used in folk medicine as a carminative. The plant and its fruits are used as an expectorant [11]
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