Abstract:

The Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a wonderful fruit which contains a wide variety of precious phytochemical compounds applicable in the fields of therapeutics and health care. Previous studies have demonstrated the anticarcinogenic activity of pomegranate extracts in a series of human cancer cells. In the present study, we investigated cytotoxic and apoptotic effect of pomegranate peel methanol extract on MCF7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells. The methanol extract was obtained from pomegranate peel and, pomegranate peel methanol extract (PPE) was evaluated for cytotoxic and apoptotic effects at 25, 50, 100, 200 and 300 µgr/ml concentrations for on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Cytotoxic effects of pomegranate on MCF-7 cells were determined by MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5diphenyltetrazolium bromide ) and neutral red uptake assays. The apoptotic activity was measured by ssDNA(single stranded DNA) apoptosis ELISA assay, based on the mAb to single-stranded DNA. PPE had significant (concentration- and time-dependent) cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on MCF-7 cancer cells. Cytotoxicity and apoptotic effects were concentration-time dependent. Specifically, apoptotic effect increased at 100, 200 and 300 µgr/ml concentrations by 48 hours. We found that pomegranate peel extract had antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on the human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7. However, further studies at molecular level are required to support our findings and to elucidate chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic effects of pomegranate on breast cancer

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