| Oplopanax horridus, commonly called Devil's club, belongs to the Araliaceae plant family and is native to Alaska and Canada. Devil's club is a widely used medicinal plant to the people who live within its range. It has been used for to treat diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and cancer, but little scientific research has been done to substantiate its medical efficacy. The current study investigated, for the first time, the use of Devil's club as a potential treatment for breast cancer. Devil's club is effective at inhibiting breast cancer cell proliferation to a greater extent than normal mammary epithelial cell proliferation. Devil's club caused a concentration dependent increase in G1 phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The cell cycle arrest induced by relatively low concentrations of Devil's club may be due to increased p21 and consequent inhibitory actions of p21 on the cyclin D/cdk complex, decreased pRb and decrease in progression of cells from G1 to S phase. As Devil's club increased caspase 8 and caspase 9 cleavage, both the intrinsic mitochondrial mediated and extrinsic death receptor pathways may be implicated in inducing apoptosis in MCF-7 cells treated with relatively high concentrations of Devil's club. Although the active components in Devil's club responsible for its anti-cancer effects have yet to be identified, one or more of these components appear to be labile as Devil's club loses its activity over time. In conclusion, Devil's club exerts anti-cancer activity by inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. |
