Cytotoxic Effect of Hydroethanolic Extract of Citrullus colocynth (L) Fruit against Human Lung Cancer Cell Line

Citrullus colocynthis is a traditional medicinal plant that belongs to the cucurbitaceae family. The extract of the fruit is rich in therapeutic phytochemicals. Lung cancer is a disease with high mortality and morbidity rates. Recently the research has been focused on herbal medicine as a treatment approach for cancer because of its no or less side effects. The aim of the study is to know about the anticancer effect of hydroethanolic extract of Citrullus colocynthis fruit against human lung cancer cell line through apoptosis pathway. Cell viability test was done by MTT assay. The mRNA expression of Bcl2 and Bcl-xL was done using the real-time PCR. The obtained data was analysed statistically by one way analysis of variance and Duncan multiple range test with graph prism version 5 to analyse the significance. The significance was considered at p<0.05 level in Duncan’s test. Citrullus colocynthis fruit extract increased the inhibition of growth of lung cancer cells. The activity of Bcl2 and Bcl xL was significantly down regulated at 400μg. The study concludes that Citrullus colocynthis fruit extract has anticancer activity on A549 human lung cancer cell line through apoptosis pathway.