Anticancer effect of the fruit and seed extracts of Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae) on human cancer cell lines

Purpose: To investigate anticancer effects of Momordica charantia L. (M. charantia) fruit and seed extracts on some cancer cell lines. Methods: Human cancer cell lines, including lung cancer (A549), breast cancer (MCF-7), chronic myeloid leukemia (K562) and T cell leukemia (Jurkat) were incubated with the extracts (0 - 0.8 mg/mL) for 72 h. The cytotoxic effects of the extracts were determined using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- dipenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. A549 and MCF-7 cells were treated with the ethanol fruit extract (FE) for 24 h and stained with propidium iodide (PI) for the analysis of cell cycle arrest using flow cytometry. Annexin V-FITC/PI staining along with flow cytometry analysis and caspase-3 assays were carried out to determine the apoptosis of the cells treated with FE extract for 24 h. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) secretion of the cells exposed to FE extract for 1 h was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Cell invasion assay was applied to detect cell migration after treatment with FE extract for 48 h. Results: Ethanol fruit extract (FE) resulted in 90, 92, 85 and 87 % cytotoxicity against K562, A549, MCF-7 and Jurkat cell lines, respectively. However, ethanol seed extract of seed (SE) was less effective (≤42 %) on cytotoxicity against cancer cells. Acetone fruit extract (FA) caused 82, 75 and 59 % cytotoxicity on MCF-7, Jurkat and K562 cells, respectively, whereas 20 % cytotoxicity was observed on A549 cells. Dose analyses of FE extract indicated that K562 cells had the lowest IC50 value (0.082 mg/mL). In addition, FE extract treatment caused accumulation of A549 and MCF-7 cells in the S phase of the cell cycle. Moreover, apoptotic cell death was observed in A549 or MCF-7 cells treated with the FE extract. While the treatment of A549 cells with LPS for 24 h resulted in 19-fold increase in VEGF secretion, combination of FE with LPS caused 9.6-fold decrease in VEGF secretion, indicating the antiangiogenic activity of FE extract. Furthermore, FE extract treatment led to a significant decrease in the invasive properties of A549 and PC-3 cells when compared to untreated cells. Conclusion: Among the M. charantia extracts, FE extract displayed the highest anticancer potency against cancer cell lines, indicating that M. charantia FE extract may be a potential source for development of anticancer compounds in future.