The Effect of Protein Extract of Licorice Root in Proliferation of Ht-29 and Ct26 Cancer Cell Lines



Khazraeimoradian S¹ ; Andalib A^{2, 3} ; Ganjalikhanihakemi M^{2, 3} ; Safari Z^{4, 5, 6} ; Zare A^{4, 5, 6} ; Kardar GA^{4, 5, 6} Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Isfahan Medical School Published:2014

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 anticancer 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. © 2014, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.