The Effect of Protein Extract of Licorice Root in Proliferation of HT-29 and CT26 Cancer Cell Lines

Document Type : Original Article (s)

Authors

1 Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan AND Immunology Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan

4 Immunology Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

5 PhD student, Immunology Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

6 Assistant Professor, Immunology Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background: Gastrointestinal cancers, especially colon cancer, are of the most common causes of death in western countries. Already, herbal and complementary medicine has been considered as a supplement treatment. The licorice is an ancient plant in herbal medicine that has many health benefits such as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects. So, the present study was designed to assess the effect of protein extract of licorice root on human colon cancer cell line (HT-29), murine colon cancer (CT26) and normal cells (HEK293) for considering the cell growth inhibition potential after treatment with the extracts.Methods: Protein extracts of licorice root powder was prepared after grinding in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at room temperature. After the dialysis in buffer, the protein concentration was determined via Bradford method. The HT-29, CT-26 and HEK-293 cell lines were maintained in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. After 24 hour of incubation at 37°C, the cells were treated with the concentrations of 25, 50 and 100 µg/ml of licorice extract. Cytotoxicity was evaluated via MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay. In addition, the inductions of apoptosis (Annecin-V-Fluos staining method) in the treated cells were evaluated using flow cytometric analysis.Findings: Up to 100 µg/ml of the protein extract had not toxin effect on normal cell proliferation (HEK293). However, the viability of CT26, HT29 and HEK293 was reduced by 29.3%, 42.5% and 70%, respectively. Moreover, the treated CT26, HT29 and HEK293 cells showed the apoptosis percentages of 47.72 ± 8.00 (P = 0.026), 34.93 ± 8.21 (P = 0.056) and 17.5 ± 6.5 (P = 0.07), respectively, in comparison with not-treated cells.Conclusion: It appears that protein extract of licorice root could inhibit the colon cancer cell line proliferation and can be used as an adjuvant treatment.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Isfahan Medical School
Volume 32, Issue 298 - Serial Number 298
July and August 2014
Pages 1338-1346

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History

  • Receive Date: 16 March 2014
  • Revise Date: 05 May 2024
  • Accept Date: 06 April 2022

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