Cytotoxic and apoptotic activities of Amorphophallus campanulatus tuber extracts against human hepatoma cell line

Amorphophallus campanulatus (Roxb.) Blume belonging to the family of Araceae, is a perennial herb commonly known as elephant foot yam. Its tuber has been traditionally used for the treatment of liver diseases, abdominal tumors, piles. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the dose-dependent cytotoxic and apoptosis inducing effects of the sub fractions of Amorphophallus campanulatus tuber methanolic extract (ACME) namely petroleum ether fraction (PEF), chloroform fraction (CHF), ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) and methanolic fraction (MeF) on human liver cancer cell line, PLC/PRF/5. Antiproliferative effects of the sub fractions of ACME were studied by MTT assay. Apoptotic activity was assessed by 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), annexin V- fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and 5,5’,6,6’ tetrachloro-1,1’,3,3’-tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide (JC-1) fluorescent staining. The chemotherapeutic drug, 5-flurouracil (5-FU) was used as positive drug control. The sub fractions of ACME were found to produce considerable cytotoxicity in human liver cancer cell line, PLC/PRF/5. In addition, the extracts were found to induce apoptosis and were substantiated by DAPI, annexin V-FITC and JC-1 fluorescent staining. A pronounced results of cytotoxic and apoptotic activities were observed in the cells treated with 5-FU and CHF, whereas, EAF and MeF treated cells exhibited a moderate result and the least effect were observed in PEF treated cells. Furthermore, these findings confirm that the sub fractions of ACME dose-dependently suppress the proliferation of PLC/PRF/5 cells by inducing apoptosis.