-Kigelia africana (Lam.) Benth. (Bignoniaceae) is a flowering plants in South, Central and West Africa and commonly known as the sausage tree (Eng.); worsboom (Afr.); umVunguta, umFongothi (Zulu); Modukguhlu (North Sotho); Muvevha (Venda). The dried, powdered fruits are used as dressing for wounds and ulcers, haemorrhoids, rheumatism, purgative, skin-firming, lactation in breast-feeding mothers. The aim of this study is to investigate the cytotoxic and apoptotic potentials of 70% ethanolic extracts of Kigelia africana fruits in HCT116 human colon cancer cells. Treatment of Kigelia africana fruits with various concentrations resulted in a sequence of characteristic of apoptosis, including loss of cell viability and morphological changes. Flow cytometry analysis showed Kigelia africana fruits increased the sub-G1 phase (apoptosis) population. Apoptosis confirmed by annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate and propidium iodide double staining in HCT116 human colon cancer cell lines. Moreover, analysis of the mechanism indicated that Kigelia africana fruits showed an increased Bax and Bcl-2 expressions in a dose-dependent manner, resulting in activation of hallmarks of apoptotic events, caspase-3, caspase-9 and cleaved poly-ADP-ribose polymerase. This is the first report to demonstrate the cytotoxicity of Kigelia africana fruits on HCT116 human colon cancer cells.

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Epimedium koreanum Nakai has been used in traditional medicine as an aphrodisiac, hypotensive, and neurasthenia; however, the cellular mechanism of E. koreanum Nakai cultivated in North Korea on HCT116 colon cancer cell activity has not been investigated. This study is to investigate the effect of E. koreanum Nakai on apoptosis of the human colon cancer cell line HCT116. The anti-proliferative activity of E. koreanum Nakai on HCT116 was identified through MTT, Western Blot, and RT-PCR analyses. The results show that 70% ethyl alcohol extracts of E. koreanum Nakai inhibited the growth of HCT116 colon cancer cells (IC50: 1.2 mg/mL on 24 hr). Concomitant activation of the mitochondria-dependent apoptotic pathway occurred via modulation of Bcl-2 and Bax expressions, resulting in activation of cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9.

The present study was performed to investigate antioxidant and anti-colon cancer activities of red cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata f. rubra DC) according to the cooking conditions (raw, microwave, blanching and steaming). The contents of red cabbage extracts were determined as follow: total phenolic contents, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azino-bis-(3-ethy lbenzo -thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, western blot analysis. The total contents of polyphenol and flavonoid of red cabbage were 20.27 mg GAE/g Dry weight ±0.03 and 2.55±0.02 mg RE/g Dry weight. In this study, the total contents of polyphenol were decreased to both microwave and steam cooking. Total antioxidant activity and growth inhibition of HCT116 human colon cancer cells were in the order of raw > microwaving > steaming cooking methods. These results indicate that red cabbage extracts might have antioxidant and anti-proliferative activity according to the cooking conditions.