Department of Biotechnology, Era's Lucknow Medical College & Hospital, Era University, Lucknow, 226003, UP, India.
Department of Biochemistry, Era's Lucknow Medical College & Hospital, Era University, Lucknow, 226003, UP, India.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 21;9(1):245. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36475-0.
Ajwa dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) are used by traditional therapeutic practitioners for several health benefits but most remain to be scientifically validated. In this study, we evaluated the apoptosis-inducing effect of ethanolic extract of Ajwa date pulp (ADP) on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) HepG2 cells. High performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the presence of polysaccharide β-D-glucan in ADP extract. Treated HCC cells revealed morphological characteristics of apoptosis under phase contrast microscopy. MTT assay demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) dose- and time-dependent inhibition of HCC cell growth. HCC cells were found to be in late apoptotic stage on treatment with higher doses of ADP extract as depicted by acridine orange/ethidium bromide and Annexin V-FITC/PI double stain. Importantly, ADP extract increased the reactive oxygen species level and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential in treated HCC cells. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that ADP extract induced elevation of S and G2/M phases of cell cycle. Moreover, ADP extract induced apoptosis in HCC cells independent of tumor suppressor genes viz. CHEK2, ATM and TP53. Interestingly, ADP extract did not display any significant effect on normal cell line Vero. This study provides validation that ADP extract can be considered as a safe and natural potential drug candidate against human liver cancer.
阿月浑子（Phoenix dactylifera L.）被传统治疗从业者用于多种健康益处，但大多数仍有待科学验证。在这项研究中，我们评估了阿月浑子果肉乙醇提取物 (ADP) 对人肝癌 (HCC) HepG2 细胞的诱导凋亡作用。高效液相色谱分析显示 ADP 提取物中存在多糖 β-D-葡聚糖。相差显微镜下观察到经处理的 HCC 细胞呈现出凋亡的形态特征。MTT 测定表明 HCC 细胞生长受到 ADP 提取物的剂量和时间依赖性显著抑制（p<0.05）。用更高剂量的 ADP 提取物处理 HCC 细胞后，发现其处于晚期凋亡阶段，如吖啶橙/溴化乙锭和 Annexin V-FITC/PI 双重染色所示。重要的是，ADP 提取物增加了处理的 HCC 细胞中的活性氧水平并降低了线粒体膜电位。流式细胞术分析表明，ADP 提取物诱导细胞周期的 S 和 G2/M 期升高。此外，ADP 提取物诱导 HCC 细胞凋亡不依赖于肿瘤抑制基因 CHEK2、ATM 和 TP53。有趣的是，ADP 提取物对正常细胞系 Vero 没有显示出任何显著影响。这项研究提供了验证，表明 ADP 提取物可以被认为是一种安全且天然的潜在肝癌治疗药物候选物。
