BACKGROUND: Clausena excavata Burm.f. is a shrub traditionally used to treat cancer patients in Asia. The main bioactive chemical components of the plant are alkaloids and coumarins. In this study, we isolated clausenidin from the roots of C. excavata to determine its apoptotic effect on the colon cancer (HT-29) cell line.
METHOD: We examined the effect of clausenidin on cell viability, ROS generation, DNA fragmentation, mitochondrial membrane potential in HT-29 cells. Ultrastructural analysis was conducted for morphological evidence of apoptosis in the treated HT-29 cells. In addition, we also evaluated the effect of clausenidin treatment on the expression of caspase 3 and 9 genes and proteins in HT-29 cells.
RESULT: Clausenidin induced a G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in HT-29 cells with significant (p