The Antioxidant and Pro-apoptotic effects of Sternbergia clusiana Bulb Ethanolic Extract on Breast Cancer Cells in vitro

Abstract

Extensive research has revealed that Amaryllidaceae species exhibit numerous therapeutic properties through several mechanisms. Among the various Amaryllidaceae species, Sternbergia clusiana has been recently given a great amount of attention in the medicinal field due to its richness in small chemical molecules, namely Amaryllidaceae alkaloids; these have been reported to possess an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory role, in addition to a prominent anti-cancer effect on different types of cancer cell lines. The current study investigates the selective anti-proliferative effect of Sternbergia clusiana bulb ethanolic extract (SbBEE) on breast cancer cells cultured in vitro (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) and reveals the underlying mechanism responsible for the induction of cell death. MDA-MB-231 cells treated with SbBEE exhibited morphological and biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis that were detected through DNA fragmentation, the hyper-expression of phosphatidylserine on the outer leaflet of cells membrane and the upregulation of proteins able to mediate cell death through apoptosis (c-PARP, Bax/ Bcl2). The prominent decrease in ROS levels upon treatment confirmed the antioxidant property of the extract being investigated, highlighting the promising effect of SbBEE in breast cancer treatment.