Int J Oral Biol.  2010 Dec;35(4):215-220.

Ethanol Extracts of Angelica decursiva Induces Apoptosis in Human Oral Cancer Cells

• Lee MH
• Kim MM
• Kook JK
• Kim DK
• Kim HR
• Kim HJ
• Kim CS

Abstract

Angelica decursiva has been used in Korean traditional medicine as an antitussive, an analgesic, an antipyretic and a cough remedy. However, its anti-cancer properties have not yet been well defined. In our current study, we report the cytotoxic activity and the mechanism of cell death induced by ethanol extracts of Angelica decursiva (EEAD) against the human oral cancer cell line, KB. Treatment of KB cells with EEAD induced apoptotic cell death in both a dose- and time-dependent manner as determined by MTT assay and DNA fragmentation. However, no cytotoxic effects of EEAD against human normal oral keratinocytes (HNOK) were evident. By western blot analysis, we found that apoptosis in KB cells is associated with a decrease in procaspase-7 and -9. In addition, the activation of caspase-7 was detectable in living KB cells by fluorescence microscopy. These results suggest that EEAD exhibits anti-cancer activity in KB cells via apoptosis and thus has potential as an anticancer agent in future drug development strategies.

Keyword

Angelica decursiva; apoptosis; human oral cancer cell; anti-cancer activity

MeSH Terms

Angelica
Apoptosis
Blotting, Western
Caspase 7
Cell Death
Cell Line
Cough
DNA Fragmentation
Ethanol
Humans
KB Cells
Keratinocytes
Medicine, Korean Traditional
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Mouth Neoplasms
Caspase 7
Ethanol