Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Nutrients, 2020 Jun 12;12(6).
PMID: 32545423 DOI: 10.3390/nu12061757

Abstract

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer in terms of incidence and the fourth in terms of mortality. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents almost 90% of primary liver cancer and has become a major health problem globally. Cardamonin (CADMN) is a natural bioactive chalcone found in several edible plants such as cardamom and Alpinia species. Previous studies have shown that CADMN possesses anticancer activities against breast, lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. In the present study, the mechanisms underlying the anti-hepatocellular carcinoma effects of CADMN were investigated against HepG2 cells. The results demonstrated that CADMN has anti-proliferative effects and apoptotic action on HepG2 cells. CADMN showed potent cytotoxicity against HepG2 cells with an IC50 of 17.1 ± 0.592 μM at 72 h. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that CADMN arrests HepG2 cells in G1 phase and induces a significant increase in early and late apoptosis in a time-dependent manner. The mechanism by which CADMN induces apoptotic action was via activation of both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways. Moreover, the findings of this study showed the involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which inhibit the NF-κB pathway and further enhance the apoptotic process. Together, our findings further support the potential anticancer activity of CADMN as an alternative therapeutic agent against HCC.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.