Ethanolic Extract Cytotoxic Effect of Zingiber Officinale in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HEPG2) Cell Line

• Main Authors: Jalil Tavakol Afshari, Nasrin Moheghi, Azam Brook
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: Hamadan University of Medical Sciences 2010-12-01
• Series: پزشکی بالینی ابن سینا
• Subjects: ginger; liver neoplasms; toxicity
• Online Access: http://sjh.umsha.ac.ir/article-1-267-en.html

Introduction & Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, also called malignant hepatoma) is a primary malignancy (cancer) of the liver. Most cases of HCC are secondary to either a viral hepatitic infection (hepatitis B or C) or cirrhosis (alcoholism being the most common cause of hepatic cirrhosis. Recently, the biological activities of zingiber officieale plants have been reported as possessing antitumor, antibacterial, anti ulcer, antifungal, and insecticidal properties. However, the antitumor effects haven't been studied in cancer cell lines. The aim of this study was to investigate the antitumor effect of zingiber officieale on hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Materials & Methods: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HEPG2) cell lines and normal connective tissue cell line (L929) were cultured in DMEM medium. Zingiber officinale was extracted and different concentration of zingiber extract (5000 to 78 µg) was added to cell culture. Cell viability was quantitated by MTT assay after 24,48 and 72 hours. Results: The effects of zingiber officieale on cell viability was observed after 48 hours on cell lines. Ginger doses in concentration 2500 µg inhibited 50% cell growth (IC50) in (HEPG2) cell lines after 48 hours of incubation, respectively. Conclusion: Our study shows that fresh ginger extract has cytotoxic effects on tumor cells but it doesn’t have any cytotoxic effect on normal cells. It seems that ginger can be considered as a promising chemotherapeutic agent in cancer treatment.