Bioactive Actions of Pomegranate Fruit Extracts on Leukemia Cell Lines In Vitro Hold Promise for New Therapeutic Agents for Leukemia

Abstract

Studies suggest that pomegranates contain bioactive chemicals with potential for treatment and prevention of cancer. Pomegranate juice extracts (PJE) have been shown to inhibit cellular proliferation and tumor growth and induce cell death via apoptosis in a number of cancer cell lines. However, to date, few studies have investigated the potential of PJE in the treatment of leukemia. We investigated the potential effect of PJE on induction of apoptosis and inhibition of cellular proliferation in 8 leukemia cell lines (4 lymphoid and 4 myeloid) and nontumor hematopoietic stem cells (control cells). Apoptosis was assessed by 2 methods: Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining with flow cytometric analysis and 4'-6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) morphological assessment. Cell cycle stage was investigated using propidum iodide staining of DNA content and flow cytometric analysis. Live cell counts were also performed using a trypan exclusion assay. PJE significantly induced apoptosis in all cell lines, including nontumor control cells, although lymphoid cells and 2 of the myeloid cell lines were more sensitive. Furthermore, PJE induced cell cycle arrest. These results were confirmed by DAPI analysis and viable cell counts using trypan blue exclusion assay. Our results provide evidence that PJE contain bioactive compounds that could be used in the treatment of leukemia.

Apoptotic effects of non-edible parts of Punica granatum on human multiple myeloma cells

“…The potent anti-proliferative activities of the non-edible pomegranate extracts have been attributed to the high amount of phenolics present in the extracts [30,31]. Literature abounds in examples of the anti-proliferative and anticancer effect of pomegranate fruit and juice, all of which have been attributed to the high level of phenolic compounds present [13,16,20,23,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Among the different mechanisms of action involved, plant phenolics exert chemopreventive activity via its antioxidative potential [7].…”

“…A previous study has reported that the non-edible pomegranate extracts investigated in the present study are very rich sources of polyphenolic and also has potent antioxidant activities [23]. The extracts were obtained by maceration with 70 % methanol which allowed the extraction of polyphenolic compounds.…”

“…Raw pomegranate peel extract offers selective cytotoxic activity against promyelocytic (HL60) cell lines and immune-stimulatory effect in peripheral blood mononuclear cells [22]. Pomegranate juice extract polyphenols exhibited antileukemic activity by inducing apoptosis and inhibiting cellular proliferation by inducing S phase arrest in leukemia cell lines [16,23].…”

Functional Variation of Soluble Polyphenols in Oak Apple Gall and Pomegranate Peels and their Inhibition Activity in Leukaemia K562 Cells

“…The anti-proliferation and apoptosis properties of pomegranate against breast, colon, lung, skin and prostate cancers have been demonstrated in vitro by numerous studies [2,[6][7][8][9]. Many researchers also reported other bioactivities of polyphenol compounds and tannin acid in addition to their significant influence on the nutritive value of many foods.…”

“…In a previous study that used non-tumor hematopoietic stem cells as control cells, anti-proliferation and apoptosis properties of pomegranate juice extracts have been observed in eight leukemia cell lines (four lymphoid and four myeloid) [2]. Polyphenol compounds are the major and the highest proportion of phytochemicals in pomegranates.…”