Crude flavonoids from Carya cathayensis Sargent inhibited HeLa cells proliferation through induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the anticancer properties of crude flavonoids from Carya cathayensis Sargent bark (CCS-F), including the inhibitory effect of CCS-F on HeLa cells and the apoptosis-inducing capacity in vitro. In our results, treatment of HeLa cells with CCS-F resulted in the growth inhibition effect, and the IC50 was 95 μg/ml. Detection of apoptosis was performed by acridine orange / ethidium bromide (AO/EB) and Tdt-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining assays, which showed more apoptosis cells in CCS-F treatment group than the control group. Furthermore, CCSF (100 μg/ml) could arrest the cells in G0/G1 phase. Meanwhile, the expression of Bax was increased in the cells treated with CCS-F (100 μg/ml), with an increase in the activity of caspase-3, while Bcl-2 expression was decreased compared to the control cells. It demonstrated that CCS-F had antiproliferative activity in HeLa cells and might be a potential anticancer drug.