Antioxidant and anticancer activity of Artemisia princeps var.orientalis extract in HepG2 and Hep3B hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Abstract

Objective:The aim of the present study was to investigate antioxidant and the anticancerigen activity of a methanol extract from Artemisia princeps var.orientalis(APME),a well-known traditional herbal medicine in Asia,in hepatocellular cancer cells.Methods:To evaluate the antioxidant activity of APME,reactive oxygen species(ROS)and the antioxidant enzymes,superoxide dismutase(SOD)and catalase were investigated in HepG2 cells exposed to APME(5,100,and 200μg/mL)for 72 h.Then,to evaluate the anticancer activity of APME,we investigated the proliferation and apoptosis induction of HepG2 and Hep3B cells exposed to APME(1-200μg/mL)for 24,48,and 72 h.Results:APME dose-dependently reduced the generation of ROS in the presence of H2O2compared with control cells.Furthermore,it increased catalase and SOD activity.Moreover,APME inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-and time-dependent manner,but at concentrations lower than 100μg/mL,the inhibition was less dose-dependent than time-dependent.HepG2 and Hep3B cells exposed to 5,100,and200μg/mL APME for 72 h underwent cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.Exposure to APME resulted in a significant increase in the number of cells in G1 phase and a decrease in the G2/M phase cell population.In addition,APME induced P53 expression of HepG2 cells in a dose-dependent manner,and played a role in the downregulation of Bcl-2 and upregulation of Bax in both HepG2 and Hep3B cells.Conclusions:These results indicate the potential role of APME as an antioxidant and anticancerigen agent in hepatocarcinoma cell lines.