Effect of Carica papaya seed extract on IL -6 and TNF-α in human lung cancer cell lines - an In vitro study

Abstract

Background: Herbal medicine has been used for many years. Medicinal plants are a natural source which has fewer side effects and has an ability to scavenge free radicals. Plants have been used for many centuries to prevent diseases traditionally, because of their pharmacological activities. Carica papaya contains an enzyme called papain which has many pharmaceutical applications and antioxidant activity. Carica papaya contains phytochemicals like flavonoids, alkaloids, sapponents, terpenoids, and amino acids which could be responsible for its medicinal property. The aim of the study is to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of Carica papaya seed and its role on the mRNA expression of IL-6 and TNF-α in human lung cancer cell lines. Materials and methods: Cell viability test was done using MTT assay. mRNA expression of IL-6 and TNF-α was done by real-time PCR. The obtained data we analysed statistically by one way analysis of variance and Duncan multiple range tests with graph prism version 5 to analyse the significance. The significance was considered at p<0.05 level in Duncan’s test. Result: The cells were exposed to different concentrations of Carica papaya (100-500µg/ml) with A549 cells for 48 hours. It showed maximum inhibition of 50% at concentration of 400-500µg/ml. The study showed that Carica papaya seed extract has down-regulated IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA expression at (400-500µg/ml) and it was statistically significant compared to untreated control cells (p< 0.05). Conclusion: The present study has concluded that cells showed maximum inhibition of 50% at (400µg/ml - 500µg/ml) and thus has anticancer potential by inhibiting mRNA expression of IL-6 and TNF-α in human lung cancer cell lines