A steroid fraction of chloroform extract from bee pollen of Brassica campestris induces apoptosis in human prostate cancer PC‐3 cells
2007
Wu, Yao‐Dong | Lou, Yi‐Jia
Bee pollen of Brassica campestris L. is widely used in China as a natural food supplement and an herbal medicine in strengthening the body's resistance against diseases including cancer. The present study was carried out to investigate the effect of a steroid fraction of chloroform extract from bee pollen of Brassica campestris L. on human cancer cell viability. Our studies show that among nine cancer cell lines of different origin (PC‐3, LNCaP, MCF‐7, Hela, BEL‐7402, BCG‐823, KB, A549 and HO8910), this steroid fraction displayed the strongest cytotoxicity in human prostate cancer PC‐3 cells. The mode of cell death appeared to be apoptosis in PC‐3 cells, as shown by flow‐cytometric analysis and fluorescence microscopes. Caspase‐3 activity was obviously enhanced after the cells were treated with the fraction. A time‐dependent decrease in the expression of anti‐apoptotic protein Bcl‐2 was also observed by Western blot analysis. It is suggested that the steroid fraction could induce cytotoxicity in prostate cancer PC‐3 cells by triggering apoptosis. The studies indicate that the steroid fraction of chloroform extract from bee pollen of Brassica campestris L. may be a promising candidate for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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