Syzygium cumini extract induced reactive oxygen species-mediated apoptosis in human oral squamous carcinoma cells

Background Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels (jambolan) is commonly used in Indian traditional medicine to treat a variety of diseases such as obesity, diabetes etc. The cytotoxic potential of S. cumini (SC) against oral cancer cell line remains elusive. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the cytotoxic effect of S. cumini in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell line (SCC-25 cells). Material and Methods Oral squamous cell carcinoma cells are treated with different concentrations (10, 20, and 40 mu g/mL) of S. cumuni for 24 hours and cytotoxicity was analyzed by MTT assay. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was measured using the indicator dye, 2 ',7 '-dichlorofluorescin diacetate staining. Apoptosis-related morphological changes were evaluated by dual acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) fluorescent staining and phosphatidylserine externalization was measured by annexin V assays. The protein and gene expression of cadherin-1 was evaluated by western blotting and PCR analysis. Results Syzygium cumini treatments caused cytotoxicity of OSCC cell line and induced intracellular ROS accumulation. This treatment also caused apoptosis-related morphological changes and externalization of phosphatidylserine in OSCC cells. Further, S. cumini treatments increased protein and gene expression of cadherin-1. Conclusion Syzygium cumini extract inhibits the proliferation of OSCC cells and induces apoptosis through ROS accumulation and therefore, it could be used for the prevention of OSCC.