Kaempferia parviflora Extract Exhibits Anti-cancer Activity against HeLa Cervical Cancer Cells

Abstract

Kaempferia parviflora (KP) has been traditionally used as a folk remedy to treat several diseases including cancer, and several studies have reported cytotoxic activities of extracts of KP against a number of different cancer cell lines. However, many aspects of the molecular mechanism of action of KP remain unclear. In particular, the ability of KP to regulate cancer cell growth and survival signaling is still largely unexplored. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of KP on cell viability, cell migration, cell invasion, cell apoptosis, and on signaling pathways related to growth and survival of cervical cancer cells, HeLa. We discovered that KP reduced HeLa cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. The potent cytotoxicity of KP against HeLa cells was associated with a dose-dependent induction of apoptotic cell death as determined by flow cytometry and observation of nuclear fragmentation. Moreover, KP-induced cell apoptosis was likely to be mediated through the intrinsic apoptosis pathway since caspase 9 and caspase 7, but not BID, were shown to be activated after KP exposure. Based on the observation that KP induced apoptosis in HeLa cell, we further investigated the effects of KP at non-cytotoxic concentrations on suppressing signal transduction pathways relevant to cell growth and survival. We found that KP suppressed the MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways in cells activated with EGF, as observed by a significant decrease in phosphorylation of ERK1/2, Elk1, PI3K, and AKT. The data suggest that KP interferes with the growth and survival of HeLa cells. Consistent with the inhibitory effect on EGF-stimulated signaling, KP potently suppressed the migration of HeLa cells. Concomitantly, KP was demonstrated to markedly inhibit HeLa cell invasion. The ability of KP in suppressing the migration and invasion of HeLa cells was associated with the suppression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 production. These data strongly suggest that KP may slow tumor progression and metastasis in patients with cervical cancer. Taken together, the present report provides accumulated evidence revealing the potent anti-cancer activities of Kaempferia parviflora against cervical cancer HeLa cells, and suggests its potential use as an alternative way for cervical cancer prevention and therapy.

Anti-cancer effects of Kaempferia parviflora on ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells

“…The ability of KP extract in suppressing the activity of MMPs was independent on the presence of EGF, since KP extract could be able to strongly overcome the effects of EGF. Our findings are in line with our previous studies showing that KP suppressed MMP-2 production in cervical cancer, HeLa cells [ 10 ]. Similar observation was reported in colorectal carcinoma cells, where a flavonoid, myricetin, inhibited MMP-2 activity and cell invasion [ 26 ].…”

“…We first performed cell viability assay to evaluate the cytotoxicity of KP extract in SKOV3 cells. It was found that KP extract decreased cell viability of ovarian cancer in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50 of approximately 0.5 mg/mL, which was slightly higher than the previously reported IC50 of KP in cervical cancer cell line, HeLa [ 10 ]. Interestingly, KP extract also strongly exhibited the reduction of ovarian cancer cell viability in the presence of EGF, suggesting that KP has potent cytotoxic effects, which overcome the influence of EGF in maintaining cell viability.…”

“…KP has been previously demonstrated to have several pharmacological effects including anti-plasmodial, anti-fungal, anti-mycobacterial [ 7 ], and anti-cancer properties [ 7 – 9 ]. We previously described the anti-cancer property of KP against cervical cancer HeLa cells showing the promising possibility that KP may be used as a potential agent for cervical cancer treatment [ 10 ]. However, the anti-cancer effects of KP against ovarian cancer have not yet been reported.…”

Artocarpus lakoocha Extract Inhibits LPS-Induced Inflammatory Response in RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cells

“…Medicinal plants are good sources of potential active anti-inflammatory agents. We previously reported various pharmacological effects of certain plants which have been traditionally used in Thailand to treat different diseases, and many parts of their mechanisms of action were associated with the modulation of inflammatory signal transduction pathways [31][32][33][34][35].…”

Characterization of phenolic compounds from normal ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) and black ginger (Kaempferia parviflora Wall.) using UPLC–DAD–QToF–MS

“…In previous studies, 25 methoxyflavones and their glycosides were identified and quantified as predominant flavonoids from rhizome extracts (Supplementary Table 2) [23][24][25][26]. The presence of these compounds contributed to a wider range of medicinal effects such as antiinflammatory [27], antioxidant [28,29], antiproliferative activity [30], hepatoprotective effect [31], and anticancer [32].…”