The Effects of Bitter Melon Extract on Three Human Cancer Cell Lines: BT549, A549 and PC3 (under the direction of Dr. E. Lewis Myles)
Abstract
Cancer remains a significant risk factor in public health globally, causing approximately 9.8 million deaths worldwide in 2018. Despite advances in conventional treatment modalities for cancer treatment, there are still few effective therapies available due to the lack of selectivity, adverse side effects, non-specific toxicities, and tumor recurrence. Therefore, there is an immediate need for essential alternative therapeutics, which can prove to be beneficial and safe against cancer. Various phytochemicals from natural sources have been found to exhibit beneficial medicinal properties against multiple human diseases (Girsa et al., 2019). Bitter Melon is one such natural source that has been found to exhibit beneficial medicinal properties against human diseases. Numerous studies have revealed that plant extracts are capable of not only reducing the lipid peroxidase but also inducing apoptosis in several cancer cell lines. The present study aims to evaluate the anticancer properties of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) extract (BME) in a dose-dependent manner against human breast cancer BT549, lung cancer (A549), and prostate cancer (PC3). The exposure of cancer cells to serially diluted concentrations of BME for 24 hours demonstrated anti-cancer effects. Alamar Blue is used to determine the cell viability, and BME inhibited proliferation at high levels in all three cancer cell lines. ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) assay for viii caspase-3 activity identified the induction of apoptosis in the three cell lines. BME induced apoptosis in all three cell lines. Moreover, a Lipid Peroxidation assay was done to measure the malondialdehyde after exposure to BME, and we found that less reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated compared to that of the control. The results indicated that BME stimulated cell proliferation at lower concentrations of .079 and .157 µg/ml in the cell lines A549 and BT549. In the PC3 cells, growth increased only in the lowest concentration of .079 µg/ml, however, in the higher levels, there was a gradual decrease in cell proliferation, and there was a significant decrease in the highest level of 5.03 µg/ml compared to the cells to DMSO (the control). Moreover, the lipid peroxidase assay revealed a significant decrease in the MDA level in the cell line A549 in concentrations 2.51 and 5.03 µg/ml, however, in BT549 and PC3 cell line only concentration 5.03 µg/ml showed a significant decrease in the MDA level, compared to the cells treated with DMSO (the control). Plus, the caspase-3 activity revealed a gradual increase in apoptosis in all three cell lines. However, there was a significant increase in the highest level of 5.03µg/ml in all three cell lines. These findings suggest that BME has anti-tumor activity, and further studies are needed to determine if it may be beneficial in the fight against cancer.
Subject Area
Biology|Cellular biology
Recommended Citation
Christopher Anthony Davis,
"The Effects of Bitter Melon Extract on Three Human Cancer Cell Lines: BT549, A549 and PC3 (under the direction of Dr. E. Lewis Myles)"
(2019).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI27740737.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI27740737