Antihepatoma Activity of Artocarpus communis Is Higher in Fractions with High Artocarpin Content

Extracts from natural plants have been used in traditional medicine for many centuries worldwide.Artocarpus communisis one such plant that has been used to treat liver cirrhosis, hypertension, and diabetes. To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the antihepatoma activity ofA. communistoward HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells and the first to explore the relationship between antihepatoma activity and the active compound artocarpin content in different fractions ofA. communis.A. communismethanol extract and fractions induced dose-dependent reduction of tumor cell viability. DNA laddering analysis revealed thatA. communisextract and fractions did not induce apoptosis in HepG2 and PLC/PRF/5 cells. Instead, acridine orange staining revealed thatA. communistriggered autophagic cell death in a dose-dependent manner. The antihepatoma activity ofA. communisis attributable to artocarpin. The fractions with the highest artocarpin content were also the fractions with the highest antihepatoma activity in the following order: dichloromethane fraction > methanol extract > ethyl acetate fraction >n-butanol fraction >n-hexane fraction. Taken together,A. communisshowed antihepatoma activity through autophagic cell death. The effect was related to artocarpin content. Artocarpin could be considered an indicator of the anticancer potential ofA. communisextract.