ROLE OF VOLATILE OILS FRACTION OF Cyperus rotundus L. IN INDUCTION OF APOPTOSIS ON CANCER CELL LINES IN VITRO

Abstract

The induction of apoptosis was evaluated in the current study, and it was found that volatile oils extracted from Cyperus rotundus L. suppressed growth and proliferation of the three cancer cell lines (Human Epidermoid Larynx Carcinoma (HEp-2), Murine Mammary Adinocarcinoma (AMN-3), Human Glioblastoma Multiformi (GBM)) via early induction of apoptosis (loss of mitochondrial membrane potential). Characteristic DNA fragmentation (late apoptosis) of treated cancer cells with the oils revealed that a definite induction of apoptosis and this may due to the cytotoxic effect of that extract. In both early and late induction of apoptosis tests, REF cells did not expressed any changes in its cellular behavior after treatment with the C. rotundus extract. Induction of apoptosis was further confirmed by investigating the changes in a mammalian cell cycle. It was observed that the volatile oils of C. rotundus L. extracts caused a significant cell cycle arrest at G2/M transition phase, due to the ability of that extract to suppress the phospho-cyclin dependent cyclase-2 (cdc-2) which is responsible for moving the cell cycle from G2 to M phase. Therefore the cells will be obligated to be arrested and undergo apoptosis, but the same extract did not expressed any change in its cdc-2 level after REF cells treatment, therefore the cells were not arrested at G2/M. Finally it was concluded that the volatile oils C. rotundus enhanced the induction of apoptosis on cancer cell lines.___________________________________________________________________