Proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction of fig extract on human lung cancer cells

OBJECTIVE:To explore the effect of fig extract (FE) on the proliferation of human lung cancer cells and elucidate the mechanism of its activity.METHODS:Human lung cancer cells were tested in vitro for cytotoxicity, colony formation inhibition, and cell cycle distribution through flow cytometry.RESULTS:After being treated with FE, the proliferation, colony formation indices of cancer cells decreased (P0.05), and stained apoptotic cells increased (P0.05). By FCM analysis,the apoptotic indices increased(P0.01).CONCLUSIONS:FE has cytotoxicity on some human lung cancer cells, but little effect on normal cells at the certain concentration, and its mechanism of activity might be associated with the inhibition of apoptosis of cancer cells.