Journal of
Medicinal Plants Research

  • Abbreviation: J. Med. Plants Res.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1996-0875
  • DOI: 10.5897/JMPR
  • Start Year: 2007
  • Published Articles: 3831

Full Length Research Paper

Scutellaria barbata D. Don induces apoptosis of human colon carcinoma cell through activation of the mitochondrion-dependent pathway

Lihui Wei1, Youqin Chen2, 4, Jiumao Lin1, Jinyan Zhao1, Xuzheng Chen1, Wei Xu3, Xianxiang Liu1, Thomas J. Sferra2, 4 and Jun Peng1
1Fujian Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1 Huatuo Road, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China. 2Department of Pediatrics, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 940 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, USA. 3Department of Pharmacology, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1 Huatuo Road, Minhou Shangjie, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108, China. 4Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 940 Stanton L. Young Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, USA.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 12 January 2011
  •  Published: 18 May 2011

Abstract

Scutellaria barbata D. Don has long been used in China for the clinical treatment of various cancers including colorectal cancer. However, the precise mechanisms of its tumorcidal activity remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the cellular effects of the ethanol extract of S. barbata D. Don (EESB) in the HT-29 human colon carcinoma cell line. We found that EESB inhibited the growth of HT-29 cells as demonstrated EESB-induced cell morphological changes and reduced cell viability in dose- and time-dependent manners. Furthermore, we observed that EESB treatment resulted in DNA fragmentation, loss of plasma membrane asymmetry, collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, and increase of the ratio of pro-apoptotic Bax to anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. These results suggest that promotion of cancer cell apoptosis through activation of the mitochondrion-dependent pathway is one of the mechanisms by which S. barbata D. Don can be effective in the treatment of cancer.

 

Key words: Scutellaria barbata D. Don, apoptosis, colorectal cancer, HT-29 cells, herbal medicine, mitochondria.

Abbreviation

 EESB, Ethanol extract of Scutellaria barbata D. Don; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide; MTT, 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide.

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This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

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