Korean Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi flavonoid extract induces mitochondrially mediated apoptosis in human gastric cancer AGS cells

Korean Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi has been widely used in Korean folk medicines for its range of medicinal benefits, including its anticancer effect. The aim of the present study was to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism of action of a flavonoid extract from Korean Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (FSB) on AGS human gastric cancer cells (gastric adenocarcinoma) in which FSB exhibits an anticancer effect. Treatment of AGS cells with FSB significantly inhibited cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, FSB significantly increased the proportion of cells in sub-G1 phase, and Annexin V and Hoechst 33258 fluorescent staining confirmed the apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, western blotting results identified that treatment of AGS cells with FSB significantly downregulated the expression of caspase family members, namely procaspases 3 and 9, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and subsequently upregulated cleaved caspase 3 and cleaved PARP. It was observed that FSB treatment significantly decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential of AGS cells. In addition, the ratio of the mitochondrion-associated proteins B cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein and B cell lymphoma extra large was upregulated. The results of the present study provide novel insight into the underlying molecular mechanism of the anticancer effects of FSB on AGS human gastric cancer cells and indicate that FSB may be an alternative chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of gastric cancer.