Honokiol produces anti-neoplastic effects on melanoma cells in vitro.

BACKGROUND

Melanoma continues to be a therapeutic challenge for the medical community owing to the scarcity of effective agents available to treat the disease. Honokiol, a traditional Chinese herb, has been proven to have anti-cancer effects in various cell types, therefore we hypothesized it may have similar cytotoxic capabilities against melanoma cells in vitro.

METHODS

Two cell lines, SK-MEL2 and MeWo, were grown in culture and exposed to increasing doses of Honokiol. Cell proliferation, cytochrome c release into the cytosol, intra-cellular caspase activity, and mitochondrial depolarization were then evaluated after treatment with honokiol.

RESULTS

Melanoma cells in culture underwent cell death, had increased cytosolic cytochrome c, showed greater caspase activity, and demonstrated increased mitochondrial depolarization after treatment when compared to controls.

CONCLUSIONS

It appears that honokiol is an effective inhibitor of cultured human melanoma cells.