Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry, University of Hail, Hail, Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2024 Nov 14;19(11):e0309795. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309795. eCollection 2024.
The study's primary goal is to ascertain whether there is a relationship between the processed green tea methanolic extract's (GTME) phytochemical components and its potential effectiveness against human liver cancer cells. The GTME's phytochemical composition was identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the extract's capacity to lower cellular proliferation and cause apoptosis in HepG2 cancerous liver cell lines was checked.
The findings of the gas chromatography-mass chromatogram showed that GTME included bioactive antioxidants and anticancer substances. Additionally, utilizing the MTT, comet assay, and acridine assay, GTME revealed a selective cytotoxic impact with a significant IC50 value (27.3 µg/ml) on HepG2 cells without any harmful effects on WI-38 healthy cells. Also, compared to untreated cells, the extract-treated HepG2 cells had an upsurge in the proportion of cells that have undergone apoptosis and displayed a comet nucleus, which is a sign of DNA damage. In addition, HepG2 cells treated with GTME revealed a stop in the G1 phase and sub-G1 apoptotic cells (37.32%) in a flow cytometry analysis. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species were shown to be responsible for HepG2 apoptosis, and the tested extract significantly reduced their levels in the treated cells. Lastly, compared to untreated cells in treated HepG2 cells, GTME significantly changed protein expression levels linked with cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase and apoptosis.
These findings provided information about the processes through which the GTME inhibited the growth of HepG2. Therefore, it has potential as an effective natural therapy for the treatment of human liver cancer. However, to validate these findings, animal models must be used for in vivo studies.
本研究的主要目的是确定加工绿茶甲醇提取物（GTME）的植物化学成分与其对人肝癌细胞潜在疗效之间是否存在关联。采用气相色谱-质谱联用技术鉴定 GTME 的植物化学成分，并检测提取物对 HepG2 肝癌细胞系的细胞增殖抑制和诱导凋亡作用。
气相色谱-质谱色谱图的结果表明 GTME 含有生物活性抗氧化剂和抗癌物质。此外，利用 MTT、彗星试验和吖啶橙试验，GTME 对 HepG2 细胞具有选择性细胞毒性作用，IC50 值为 27.3µg/ml，而对 WI-38 正常细胞无任何有害影响。与未处理的细胞相比，用提取物处理的 HepG2 细胞中经历凋亡的细胞比例增加，彗星核出现，这是 DNA 损伤的标志。此外，在流式细胞术分析中，GTME 处理的 HepG2 细胞显示 G1 期停滞和亚 G1 凋亡细胞（37.32%）。此外，活性氧被证明是 HepG2 细胞凋亡的原因，而所测试的提取物显著降低了处理细胞中的活性氧水平。最后，与未处理的细胞相比，在处理的 HepG2 细胞中，GTME 显著改变了与 G1 期细胞周期阻滞和凋亡相关的蛋白质表达水平。
这些发现提供了关于 GTME 抑制 HepG2 生长的作用机制的信息。因此，它有可能成为治疗人类肝癌的有效天然疗法。然而，为了验证这些发现，必须使用动物模型进行体内研究。
