title: Verbesina encelioides: cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest, and oxidative DNA damage in human liver cancer (HepG2) cell line.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer is a major health problem and exploiting natural products have been one of the most successful methods to combat this disease. Verbesina encelioides is a notorious weed with various pharmacological properties. The aim of the present investigation was to screen the anticancer potential of V. encelioides extract against human lung cancer (A-549), breast cancer (MCF-7), and liver cancer (HepG2) cell lines.
  
  
  METHODS
  A-549, MCF-7, and HepG2 cells were exposed to various concentrations of (10-1000 μg/ml) of V. encelioides for 24 h. Further, cytotoxic concentrations (250, 500, and 1000 μg/ml) of V. encelioides induced oxidative stress (GSH and LPO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), cell cycle arrest, and DNA damage in HepG2 cells were studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The exposure of cells to 10-1000 μg/ml of extract for 24 h, revealed the concentrations 250-1000 μg/ml was cytotoxic against MCF-7 and HepG2 cells, but not against A-549 cells. Moreover, the extract showed higher decrease in the cell viability against HepG2 cells than MCF-7 cells. Therefore, HepG2 cells were selected for further studies viz. oxidative stress (GSH and LPO), reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), cell cycle arrest, and DNA damage. The results revealed differential anticancer activity of V. encelioides against A-549, MCF-7 and HepG2 cells. A significant induction of oxidative stress, ROS generation, and MMP levels was observed in HepG2 cells. The cell cycle analysis and comet assay showed that V. encelioides significantly induced G2/M arrests and DNA damage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that V. encelioides possess substantial cytotoxic potential and may warrant further investigation to develop potential anticancer agent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mai M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Al-Oqail
authors.affiliation: Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box-2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.|Al-Jeraisy Chair for DNA Research, Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Maqsood A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ebtesam S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Al-Sheddi
authors.affiliation: Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box-2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.|Al-Jeraisy Chair for DNA Research, Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Quaiser
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Saquib
authors.affiliation: Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box-2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.|Al-Jeraisy Chair for DNA Research, Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Javed
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Musarrat
authors.affiliation: Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box-2455, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulaziz A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Al-Khedhairy
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. nidachem@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nida N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Farshori
mesh_terms: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004249:DNA Damage; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation; D008113:Liver Neoplasms; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D031208:Verbesina / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D010936:Plant Extracts; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D005978:Glutathione
keywords: Cytotoxicity; DNA damage; MMP; Oxidative stress; ROS generation; Verbesina encelioides