TITLE:
Anticancer Activity of Peganum harmala and Haloxylon salicornicum Leaf Extracts on Lung Cancer A549 and Prostate Cancer PC-3 Cell Lines
AUTHORS:
Naif M. Alhawiti, Waeel H. Alramadhan, William Boadi, Elbert Lewis Myles
KEYWORDS:
Peganum harmala, Haloxylon salicornicum, Lung Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Lipid Peroxidation, Caspase-3, Apoptosis
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.14 No.11,
November
27,
2023
ABSTRACT: Cancer is a worldwide disease that ranks as the second-largest cause of
death after cardiovascular disease. In 2019,
the estimated number of cancer deaths was around 10 million worldwide
and 600,000 in the United States. Due to the high side effects of the available
treatments for cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, a demand for
alternative treatments has been a goal for scientists with less toxicity and
side effects. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer worldwide and the
leading cause of death in the United States.
In addition, prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death
in American men after lung cancer. Natural sources discovered to have
therapeutic medicinal properties against human diseases are the plants Peganum
harmala and Haloxylon salicornicum. The aim of this study is to test
the anticancer activity of leaf extracts of Peganum harmala and Haloxylon
salicornicum on lung cancer (A549) and prostate cancer (PC3) cell lines.
The anticancer activity of P. harmala and H. salicornicum was
studied using the assays: crystal violet
viability, lipid peroxidation, and caspase-3 techniques, which were
evaluated in vitro on two human cancer cell lines. The results of the
study showed that both plants’ extracts reduced the viability of both cancer
cell lines, which depended on the concentration of the extract. Also, P.
harmala showed more potent activity against both types of cancer than H.
salicornicum. P. harmala and H. salicornicum decreased the
lipid peroxidation that induces cancer as well as increased the expression of caspase-3,
which causes apoptosis and cell death. This study concluded that P. harmala and H. salicornicum leaf extracts showed significant anticancer
properties, which might be due to the
presence of phytochemicals, including flavonoids and phenolics.