Antitumor Activity of Ethanolic Extract ofDendrobium formosumin T-Cell Lymphoma: AnIn VitroandIn VivoStudy

Abstract

Dendrobium, a genus of orchid, was found to possess useful therapeutic activities like anticancer, hypoglycaemic, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, and neuroprotective activities. The study was aimed to evaluate the anticancer property of the ethanolic extract ofDendrobium formosumon Dalton’s lymphoma.In vitrocytotoxicity was determined by MTT assay, apoptosis was determined by fluorescence microscopy, and cell cycle progression was analysed using flow cytometry;in vivoantitumor activity was performed in Dalton’s lymphoma bearing mice. The IC50value of ethanolic extract was obtained at 350 μg/mL in Dalton’s lymphoma cells. Fluorescence microscopy analysis showed significant increase in apoptotic cell death in dose- and time-dependent manner which was further confirmed through the resulting DNA fragmentation. Further, flow cytometry analysis showed that the ethanolic extract arrests the cells in G2/M phase of the cell cycle. Thein vivoanticancer activity study illustrates significant increase in the survival time of Dalton’s lymphoma bearing mice on treatment with ethanolic extract when compared to control. These results substantiate the antitumor properties of ethanolic extract ofDendrobium formosumand suggest an alternative in treatment of cancer. Further studies are required regarding the isolation and characterization of bioactive components along with the analysis of molecular mechanism involved.