Anti-Proliferative Activity of Andrographis paniculata Whole Plant Extract on A549 Lung Cancer Cell Line
Author(s): Yoshita Guntupalli, Raghunandhakumar S*, Ezhilarasan D and Lakshmi T
Abstract
Introduction: Lung cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the world. Cases are increasing globally everyday mainly due to increased habits of tobacco smoking. Timely diagnosis of lung cancer is complicated and requires effective coordination between multiple disciplines. Treatment modalities require a more personalized approach as lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease influenced by multiple factors. Andrographis paniculata is a medicinal plant which is traditionally used for many centuries for various purposes like upper respiratory tract infections, viral infections, etc. It is widely used in the field of Unani and Ayurveda. Aim: The aim of our study is to find out whether Andrographis paniculata whole plant extract has anti-proliferative activity on A549 lung cancer cell line. Materials and Methods: The cells (1 × 105 cells per ml) were seeded in a 96 well microtiter plate (100 μl per well) with replications. Treatment was conducted for 24hrs with different concentrations (10, 20, 40, 80, 160, 320 μg/ml) of andrographolide. After incubation, 20 μl of 5 mg/ml MTT stock solution was added to each well and incubated for 4 h at 37 °C. The obtained formazan crystals were solubilized with DMSO and the absorbance was measured at 570 nm using a microplate reader (SpectraMax M5, Molecular Devices, USA). Cell viability (%) has been shown as a ratio of absorbance (A570) in treated cells to absorbance in control cells (0.1 % DMSO) (A570). The IC50 was calculated as the concentration of sample needed to reduce 50 % of the absorbance in comparison to the DMSO-treated control. Percentage of cell viability was calculated following the equation: Cell viability (%)=Absorbance of sample/ Absorbance of control X 100 Inhibition (%)=100- cell viability (%) Results and Discussion: Andrographis paniculata whole plant extract was found to have anti-proliferative activity against A549 lung cancer cell line. We observed that when the concentration of plant extract increases the rate of cell death also increases, which clearly shows the anticancer efficacy of the plant extract. Conclusion: Hence Andrographis paniculata can be used as an effective treatment against lung cancer. Further investigation at pre-clinical and clinical levels for establishing it as a potential agent for cancer therapy.