Pro-Apoptotic Effect of Lippia nodiflora Leaf Extract against the Skin Cancer Cell Line

Background: Skin cancers are cancers that develop on the surface of the skin. They occur as a result of the formation of irregular cells with the potential to infiltrate or migrate to other areas of the body. Natural medicinal resources, such as the traditional herbal remedy Lippia nodiflora, have long been used to treat dermatological disorders including skin inflammation and melanogenesis. Apoptosis serves as a promising pathway in controlling cancer. However there are minimal amounts of studies exploring its proapoptotic activity of Lippia nodiflora in skin cancer cells.

Aim: The aim of this present study was to evaluate the pro-apoptotic effect of Lippia nodiflora leaf extract against the skin cancer cell line.

Materials and Methods: MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays were used to determine the cytotoxic effect of Lippia nodiflora leaf extract against skin cancer cells (B16-F10). The skin cancer cells were treated with different concentration Lippia nodiflora leaf extract for 24h. We calculated the optimum (IC-50; 20µg/ml) using the MTT assay, which was then used for further analysis. A phase-contrast microscope is used to analyse changes in cell morphology. AO/EtBr dual staining under a fluorescence microscope was used to determine the effect of Lippia nodiflora on B16-F10 cell death.

Results: In our research, the cell viability of the B16-F10 skin cancer cell line was dramatically decreased after treatment with different concentrations (5-60 µg/ml) of Lippia nodiflora for 24 hours. 50% inhibition was detected at a concentration of 20 µg/ml, which was determined to be an inhibitory concentration (IC-50) value and used in subsequent studies. The viable cell will possess a uniform bright green nucleus. Early apoptotic cells will have bright orange areas of condensed or fragmented chromatin in the nucleus. Late apoptotic cells will have uniform bright red nucleus.

Conclusion: The findings of this analysis revealed that Lippia nodiflora leaf extract inhibits the cell viability and indces apoptosis of skin cancer cells. Thus, Lippia nodiflora exhibits anti-cancer effects against skin cancer cells, therefore it raises new hope for anti-cancer therapy.