Abstract

APOPTOSIS INDUCING POTENTIALTY OF SPATHODEA CAMPANULATA BARK AGAINST HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA: HEPG2 CELLS

Shrawan Kumar, Rahul Laxhman Gajbhiye and Shila Elizabeth Besra*

Abstract

Bark extract of Spathodea campanulata (BESC) showed potential activity on glioma cells in our previous study but in its activity on hepatocarcinogenesis of hepatoma cells have not been reported so far. Therefore, in this present study we investigated the apoptosis activity of bark extract of Spathodea campanulata (BESC) on hepatocarcinoma cells. BESC significantly inhibited cell viability in a time and concentration dependent manner in the HepG2 cells. Morphological study showed several signs of apoptosis like chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation and formation of apoptotic bodies in the BESC treated cells. Agarose gel electrophoresis and detection of apoptosis by flow cytometric analysis had been also performed to ensure the appreciable number of cells in early & late apoptotic stages of HepG2 cells. Cell cycle phase arrest was observed in the G0/G1 phase and MMP shift assay exhibited significant change in the BESC treated cells. The good performance of S. campanulata towards hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line confirms it could be used as a natural source of anti-tumor agents with minimum side effects.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Spathodea campanulata, Bark, Apoptosis.