The Apoptotic Effect of Methanolic Extract of Galium verum on HT29 Cell Line

Abstract

Galium verum has been reported to have cytotoxic effects, however, the mechanism of Galium verum extract action on cancer cells is unclear in many cases. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic of the whole plant methanolic extract on colon cancer (HT29) cells. colon cancer cells were randomly divided into control group and groups treated with 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200 1nd 400 μg/mL of the extract for 72h. Plant extract was obtained through maceration. MTT assay was applied to test viability of cells.Apoptosis and cell-cycle, and intracellular levels of ROS were determined by flow cytometry. Bax and Bcl-2 expression levels were evaluated using RT-PCR. Treatment of HT29 cells with 400 μg/mL of whole plant extract resulted in significant decreased viability and increased late apoptosis (P<0.0001), and a notable increase in cell number stoped in G0/G1 phase (P<0.05) and a notable decrease in cell number in S phase (P<0.05), and increased intracellular ROS levels (P<0.01). In conclusion, the high concentration of methanolic whole plant extract of Galium verum induces apoptosis through Bax-dependent pathway and increases intracellular levels of ROS in colon cancer (HT29) cells in vitro suggesting that the whole plant extract of Galium verum can play a role in treatment of colon cancer.