ISSN: 1837-9664Journal of Cancer
Global reach, higher impact
J Cancer 2024; 15(3):577-589. doi:10.7150/jca.89539 This issue Cite
Research Paper
Exploring the therapeutic potential of edible vegetables, fruits, and spices against cancer in various cell lines
1. Department of Pharmacy, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh.
2. Department of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh.
3. Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), Rajshahi, Bangladesh.
4. Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
5. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.
6. Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2457; Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
† These authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract
Cancer is rapidly becoming the leading cause of death globally. This study aimed to identify edible foods with cytotoxic and/or antioxidant activities that can prevent cancer when consumed in a regular diet. Sixty-eight edible foods were purchased from the local market, and the materials were extracted with 80% methanol. The cytotoxic activity of the extracts was evaluated using MTT on HeLa, H2228, HEK293, and H3122 cell lines. To study apoptosis, triple fluorescence labeling with DAPI, Annexin V, and propidium iodide was used. The phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and free radical scavenging capabilities were studied using conventional spectrophotometric techniques. Among the edible foods, carrot, pointed gourd, wax gourd, ficus, apple, lemon, cumin seed, and white peppercorn showed moderate cytotoxicity in HeLa cells. The growth of HeLa cells was significantly inhibited dose-dependently by tomato, banana, Indian spinach, guava, lemon peel, and coriander (IC50, 24.54, 17.89, 13.18, 9.33, 1.23, and 2.96 µg/mL, respectively). Tomato, Indian spinach, lemon peel, and coriander exerted significant dose-dependent inhibition of H2228, HEK293, and H3122 cell proliferation. The tomato, Indian spinach, lemon peel, and coriander extracts induced HeLa cell apoptosis. White peppercorn, amaranth, apple, wax gourd, cumin seed, taro, and lemon peel contained significant amounts of polyphenols and showed high antioxidant activity. White peppercorn, apple, coriander, lemon peel, and ficus significantly scavenged DPPH free radicals (IC50 values of 10.23, 12.02, 13.49, 13.8, and 14.0 µg/mL, respectively). The overall results suggest that the daily intake of these antioxidant-rich cytotoxic foods can prevent or reduce the risk of cancer.
Keywords: Anticancer activity, Apoptosis, Free radicals, Cancer, Vegetables, Fruits, Spices, Antioxidants
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