Khat (Catha Edulis Forsk) induced apoptosis and cytotoxicity in cultured cells: A scoping review

Background: Khat (Catha edulis Forsk) leaves are chewed by people in certain regions of East Africa and the Middle East for their stimulating amphetamine-like effects. The purpose of this scoping review is to systematically map the current in vitro publications that investigated the toxicological potential effects of khat on cultured human or animal cells in terms of cellular viability and activity. Methods: A comprehensive electronic database search was undertaken up to December 2020 without starting date or language restrictions in accordance with the PRISMA extension for scoping review guideline and methodological quality evaluation based on the guidelines for reporting pre-clinical in vitro studies on dental materials. All in vitro studies that investigated the effect of khat plant extract (Catha Edulis) on the cultured human or animal cells were included. Results: The initial search yielded 599 articles and 16 articles were finally selected to be included. The treatment of cells with khat produced different degrees of cellular changes, including decreased cellular survival, induction of apoptosis, increased ROS production, alteration of cell phenotype, and of arrest cell cycle. In this contest, khatexposed cells expressed higher levels of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and lower levels of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2, upregulated p38, p53, p16, and p21 proteins, as well as premature expression of differentiation markers. Conclusion: Based on the current scoping review, khat induced apoptosis and cytotoxicity in cultured human cells, including oral cells.

Automated summary

This scoping review systematically mapped the toxicological potential effects of khat on cultured human or animal cells, revealing that khat treatment induced cellular changes such as decreased survival, apoptosis induction, increased ROS production, alteration of cell phenotype, and cell cycle arrest.