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Cytotoxic activity of Hypericum perforatum L. on K562 erythroleukemic cells: differential effects between methanolic extract and hypericin
Author(s) -
Roscetti Gianna,
Franzese Ornella,
Comandini Alessandro,
Bonmassar Enzo
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.1369
Subject(s) - hypericin , hypericum perforatum , pharmacognosy , traditional medicine , hypericum , cytotoxic t cell , differential (mechanical device) , pharmacology , chemistry , biology , biological activity , medicine , biochemistry , in vitro , engineering , aerospace engineering
The influence of a methanolic extract of Hypericum perforatum L. and of puried hypericin has been comparatively tested on the growth of a human erythroleukemic cell line (K562). After 1 h exposure to increasing concentrations (as hypericin content) of both agents in the dark, leukemic cells were grown for 24 h and 48 h. The effects on cell growth were determined by viable cell count, flow cytometry analysis and fluorescence microscopy. Our data show that puried hypericin has only a weak inhibitory effect on cell growth and no effect in inducing apoptotic cell death. In contrast, the Hypericum flower extract shows a signicant concentration‐dependent and long‐lasting inhibition of cell growth, and induces apoptotic cell death. This work conrms the interesting role of Hypericum perforatum L. in cancer therapy and strongly supports the hypothesis that agents, other than hypericin, present in the total extract can impair tumor cell growth acting separately or in a combined manner. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.