Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent type of primary liver cancer. Patients with advanced HCC have a dismal prognosis due to the limited therapy choices available. Hence, this present study evaluates the cytotoxic potential of the ethanolic crude extract of Sorghum bicolor leaf stalk (SBELSE) against human hepatocellular carcinoma (HEPG2) cell line, and its effect in the expression of its Hh signaling component-GLI1 and PTCH. The leaf stalk of Sorghum bicolor (SB) was pulverized and extracted with 70% ethanol. HEPG2 cells were treated with different concentration of ethanol extract of SBELSE which was subjected to 2-fold serial dilution to achieve a graded concentration (9.77-5000 µg/ml). Cell viability was performed using CCK-8 assay. The cells were treated with 8 µg/mL and 23 µg/mL concentration of SBELSE for 48 hour, after which RNA was isolated for downstream gene expression studies using RT-qPCR. The expression level of GLI1 and PTCH genes in cell line was examined relative to the untreated group. SBELSE exerted a cytotoxic effect on HEPG-2 cells with an inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 150 µg/mL. After 48 hours of treatment and evaluation, Expression of GLI1 and PTCH genes was seen in all cell group but was increased in groups treated with 8µg/mL concentration of S. bicolor extract than in the control group.  The findings of this study suggest the possibility of the extract to contain agonistic component that might support cancer cell proliferation.

Background: General belief of preventive and beneficial effect of vegetable consumption on cardiovascular diseases requires scientific investigation. Objective: To investigate the effect of five selected vegetables (Basella. alba, Crassocephalum crepidioides, Launaea taraxacifolia, Senecio biafrae and Solanum nigrum) on blood pressure and cardiac functions in isoproterenol-treated myocardial infarction male rats. Materials and Methods: Dried ground leaves (350 g of each vegetable) were extracted at room temperature (26oC) with 3 L of water via maceration. Rats (150-200 g) were randomly divided into 14 groups of 6 rats each. Groups 1 and 8 served as normal and isoproterenol controls respectively, Groups 2 to 6 received 200 mg/kg body weight (b.wt.) of each extract, Groups 9 to 14 were pretreated with each extract (200 mg/kg b.wt.) and then isoproterenol (20 mg/kg b.wt.; subcutaneously) to induce myocardial infarction (days 29 and 30). Group 7 was administered mixture of all the extracts in ratio 1:1:1:1:1, while Group 14 received extracts mixture and isoproterenol. Vegetable extracts were administered for 28 days. Blood pressure (BP) was measured via arterial cannulation under urethane and alpha-chloralose anaesthasia. C-reactive protein (CRP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured in cardiac puncture-collected blood samples using commercially available kits. Results: Pretreatment of the rats with vegetable extracts significantly reduced (p<0.05) BP and the plasma levels of CRP, LDH, CK, AST in isoproterenol-treated rats. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that selected vegetables extract reduced BP and improved cardiac functions in isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction male rats. Keywords: Basella alba, Crassocephalum crepidioides, Launaea taraxacifolia, Senecio biafrae, Solanum nigrum, blood pressure, C-reactive protein, myocardial infarction.