Antiproliferative and Proapoptotic Effect of Daucus carota in Cervical Cancer Cells: An In Vitro Approach

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Synthetic chemotherapeutic drugs such as bevacizumab have been employed for the treatment of cervical cancer, however, due to the associated side effects of bevacizumab, it has been substituted for plants with anticancer activities. Therefore, organic agricultural plants with anticancer activity have gained significant attention and emerged as a main area of research. Daucus carota (carrots) have phytochemicals that exhibit remarkable anticancer properties (antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects). We herein report the extraction of phytochemicals from D. carota. The characterization was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The inhibitory concentration at 50 % (IC50) of phytochemicals was assessed by sulforhodamine B assay utilizing HeLa cells and found 1.94 μg/mL. These cell lines were treated with varying concentration of phytochemicals (1.98 (1X IC50) and 3.88 μg/mL (2X IC50)) and were stained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and propidium iodide (PI) dyes. Moreover, activation of caspase-3 assay, changes in mitochondrial membrane potential, production of lactate dehydrogenase and reactive oxygen species, investigation of DNA damage by comet assay and cell cycle assessment by flow cytometry were accomplished. The results demonstrated that these phytochemicals led to apoptosis, cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation, triggered antiproliferative and proapoptotic potential on HeLa cell lines.