Title:Anticancer Effect and Phytochemical Profile of the Extract from Achillea ketenoglui
against Human Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines
Volume: 22
Issue: 9
Author(s): İlknur Ç. Ayan*, Sümeyra Çetinkaya, Hatice G. Dursun, Canan E. Güneş and Seda Şirin
Affiliation:
- Department of Medical Biology, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Meram, Konya, Turkey
Keywords:
Apoptosis, cell cycle, casticin, colorectal cancer, medicinal plants, cytotoxicity, Achilla ketenoglui.
Abstract:
Background: In the treatment of Colorectal Cancer (CRC), the search for new antineoplastic drugs with
fewer side effects and more effectiveness continues. A significant part of these pursuits and efforts focus on medicinal
herbs and plant components derived from these plants. A. ketenoglui is one of these medicinal plants, and its anticancer
potential has never been studied before.
Methods: The phenolic and flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of A. ketenoglui extracts were determined. The
phytochemical profiling and quantification analysis of major components were performed by HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS.
Cytotoxicity, proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle were evaluated to reveal the anticancer activity of the extract on
CRC cells (HCT 116 and HT-29). The determined anticancer activity was confirmed by mRNA (RT-qPCR) and protein
(Western blotting) analyzes.
Results: A. ketenoglui methanol extract was found to have high phenolic (281.89±0.23) and flavonoid (33.80±0.15)
content and antioxidant activity (IC50 40.03±0.38). According to the XTT assay, the extract has strong cytotoxic activity
(IC50 350 μM in HCT 116 and IC50 263 μM in HT-29 cell line). The compounds most commonly found in the plant
are, in descending order, chlorogenic acid, apigenin, genistin, baicalin, eupatorin, casticin, and luteolin. In flowcytometric
analysis, the extract was found to induce greater apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in both cell lines than in both
control and positive control (casticin). According to the results of the mRNA expression analysis, the extract treatment
upregulated the expression of the critical genes of the cell cycle and apoptosis, such as p53, p21, caspase-3, and
caspase-9. In protein expression analysis, an increase in caspase-3 and p53 expression was observed in both cell lines
treated with the extract. In addition, caspase-9 expression was increased in HT-29 cells.
Conclusion: The findings show that A. ketenoglui has an anticancer potential by inducing apoptosis and arresting the
cancer cell cycle and may be promising for CRC therapy. This potential of the plant is realized through the synergistic
effects of its newly identified components.
