Article · Volume 6, Issue 4 · pp. 312–319
Antiproliferative effects of Plumbago rosea and its purified constituent plumbagin on SK-MEL 28 melanoma cell lines
Alexander Ronaldo Anuf1, Rajesh Ramachandran2, Rajaram Krishnasamy3, P.S. Sudhakar Gandhi3, Sureshkumar Periyasamy3
- 1Department of Biotechnology, Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu
- 2Biogenix Research Centre, Trivandrum, Kerala
- 3Department of Biotechnology, Bharathidasan Institute of Technology Campus, Anna University, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
Background Plumbago rosea is used in traditional systems of medicine for the preparation of formulations used for treating inflammations, cough, bronchitis, and gastrointestinal disorders, and also in conjunction with cancer chemotherapy. In the present study, the cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects of plumbagin, and the ethanolic root extract of P. rosea (ETPR) was evaluated on SK-MEL 28 melanoma cell lines and human lymphocytes. Materials and Methods MTT and apoptotic assays were used for the evaluation of cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects, respectively. In addition, the effect of Plumbagin and ETPR in down regulation of BCL-2 expression is investigated using RT-PCR analysis. Results Both plumbagin and ETPR dose-dependently decreased the cell viability more potently in melanoma cell lines. P. rosea extract demonstrated significant synergy in inhibiting BCL-2 expression than plumbagin. Moreover plumbagin showed more toxicity in human lymphocytes. Conclusion Plumbagin has anti-cancer potential, but the side effects limits its use; yet plumbagin, in combination with other ingredients in Plumbago rosea extract, displays significant synergy leading to a stronger anticancer effect with significantly less toxicity.
Keywords: BCL-2; ethanolic root extract of P. rosea; high performance liquid chromatography; Plumbago rosea; plumbagin; SK-MEL 28
The full text of this article is available as a PDF. Open the PDF.