Holy Basil leaf extract decreases tumorigenicity and metastasis of aggressive human pancreatic cancer cellsin vitroandin vivo:Potential role in therapy

• Published in: Cancer letters Vol. 336; no. 2; p. 270
• Main Authors: Shimizu, Tomohiro, Torres, María P, Chakraborty, Subhankar, Souchek, Joshua J, Rachagani, Satyanarayana, Kaur, Sukhwinder, Macha, Muzafar, Ganti, Apar K, Hauke, Ralph J, Batra, Surinder K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Clare Elsevier Limited 19.08.2013
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Cancer therapies; Cytotoxicity; Medical prognosis; Metastasis; Pancreatic cancer; Rodents; Studies; India
• ISSN: 0304-3835; 1872-7980
• DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2013.03.017

There is an urgent need to develop alternative therapies against lethal pancreatic cancer (PC).Ocimum sanctum("Holy Basil") has been used for thousands of years in traditional Indian medicine, but its anti-tumorigenic effect remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that extracts ofO. sanctumleaves inhibit the proliferation, migration, invasion, and induce apoptosis of PC cellsin vitro. The expression of genes that promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of PC cells including activated ERK-1/2, FAK, and p65 (subunit of NF-κB), was downregulated in PC cells afterO. sanctumtreatment. Intraperitoneal injections of the aqueous extract significantly inhibited the growth of orthotopically transplanted PC cellsin vivo(p<0.05). Genes that inhibit metastasis (E-cadherin) and induce apoptosis (BAD) were significantly upregulated in tumors isolated from mice treated withO. sanctumextracts, while genes that promote survival (Bcl-2andBcl-xL) and chemo/radiation resistance (AURKA,Chk1andSurvivin) were downregulated. Overall, our study suggests that leaves ofO. sanctumcould be a potential source of novel anticancer compounds in the future.