Date of Award

4-19-2024

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Brian Y. Y. Wong

Abstract

Chinese medicinal herbs, such as Oldenlandia diffusa, contain phytochemicals that exhibit antitumor, chemopreventive, and antiangiogenic effects in cancer cells. In this study, both Oldenlandia diffusa and Bryophyllum pinnatum (a lesser-studied herb) were tested on breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-157 and 93A by administering an aqueous extract. The effectiveness between cell lines was also compared. The apoptotic effect both herbs showed was quantified by the levels of pro and anti-apoptotic proteins expressed in each cell line. Both cell lines treated with Oldenlandia diffusa and Bryophyllum pinnatum showed significant differences in their levels of both pro and anti-apoptotic proteins when compared to no treatment. Statistical analysis was performed by a One-way ANOVA with a Tukey post hoc test. When analyzing the data, it was found that Bryophyllum pinnatum typically upregulated pro-apoptotic proteins significantly [MDA-MB-157: CD40 (p=0.001), CD40L (p=0.008), Caspase 3 (0.002), p53 (p=0.004); 93A: BID (p=0.005), Caspase 8 (p=0.011), Caspase 3 (p=0.007), p53 (p=0.045)], while Oldenlandia diffusa typically downregulated the anti-apoptotic proteins significantly [93A: Bd-w (p=0.012), p21 (=0.018)].

Subject Area

Breast--Cancer; Apoptosis; Herbs--China--Therapeutic use; Oldenlandia; Kalanchoe

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