Reactive oxygen species mediation of Baizhu-induced apoptosis in human leukemia cells

Baizhu ( Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz) has traditionally been used as an important ingredient of several Chinese herbal medicines, which have been used for abdominal pain and gastroenterology diseases for thousands of years. Despite its popularity in herbal therapies, little is known about the an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of ethnopharmacology 2005-02, Vol.97 (1), p.21-29
Main Authors: Huang, Huey-Lan, Chen, Chien-Chih, Yeh, Chin-Yi, Huang, Ray-Ling
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anticarcinogenic activity
Antineoplastic Agents - isolation & purification
Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology
Apoptosis
Apoptosis - drug effects
Apoptosis - physiology
Atractylodes
Atractylodes macrocephala
Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz
Baizhu
Biological and medical sciences
cell lines
Chinese traditional medicine
Drugs, Chinese Herbal - isolation & purification
Drugs, Chinese Herbal - pharmacology
General pharmacology
herbal medicines
HL-60 Cells
Humans
Jurkat Cells
leukemia
Medical sciences
Oriental traditional medicine
Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
plant extracts
Reactive oxygen species
Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism
U937 Cells
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Summary:Baizhu ( Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz) has traditionally been used as an important ingredient of several Chinese herbal medicines, which have been used for abdominal pain and gastroenterology diseases for thousands of years. Despite its popularity in herbal therapies, little is known about the anticancer effect of Baizhu. In this study, the anticancer potential of Baizhu on human hepatoma and leukemia cell lines was evaluated. Baizhu methanol extract induced apoptosis in human lymphoma Jurkat T cells, leukemia U937, and HL-60 cells. This was confirmed by several methods, including hypodiploid cells detection using flow cytometry, the examination of apoptotic bodies containing cells using confocal laser scanning microscopy, and hypodiploid cell population inhibition using the broad spectrum caspase inhibitor z-VAD. Finally, the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) and superoxide anion (O 2 −), were found to be elevated after treatment of these cells with Baizhu extracts. Antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) pretreatment almost completely inhibited Baizhu-induced apoptosis, suggesting that ROS are the key mediators for Baizhu-induced apoptosis. All these data indicate that Baizhu is a possible anti-tumor agent that induces apoptosis of human leukemia cells through ROS generation.
ISSN:0378-8741
1872-7573
DOI:10.1016/j.jep.2004.09.058