Apoptotic effects of Acorus calamus extract on prostate cancer LNCaP cells

Abstract

Acorus calamus is a plant that is widely used in Far Eastern and Asian countries and has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti microbial, and anti-cancer effects. Prostate cancer is a sort of cancer that is frequently diagnosed and has a high mortality rate in men. Only a limited number of studies are available showing the effects of Acorus calamus on prostate cancer. To assess the effects of Acorus calamus extract on caspase and anti-apoptotic and proapoptotic markers that play a role in the apoptotic process of LNCaP cells in prostate cancer by conducting an in vitro study. LNCaP cells were incubated for 24 and 48 hours and treated with different concentrations of an ethanolic extract of Acorus calamus ranging from 250 to 700 µg/ml. Caspase-3, -8, and -9, Bcl-2, Bax, APAF-1, Bcl-XL, and p53 levels were measured using the ELISA method. Quantitative gene expression analyzes of Bcl-2 and Bax were performed using real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. The Mann-Whitney U and Tukey tests were used to analyse differences between groups. p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Caspase-3 and -8 and APAF-1 levels were found to be significantly higher in the 48th-hour application of 700 µg/ml of Acorus calamus extract than in the control group (p<0.05, p<0.001, and p<0.001, respectively). Bcl-2 was significantly lower and Bax/Bcl-2 expression ratio was significantly higher at all doses for 24 and 48 hours compared to the control group (p<0.001 for all). Although, caspase-9, Bcl-XL, and p53 were higher in experimental groups than controls, no significant difference was found. This study supported the time- and dose-dependent anti-cancer effects of Acorus calamus on LNCaP cells of the prostate cancer type. Further preclinical and clinical studies are requisite to support our findings.