Anticancer and apoptotic effects on cell proliferation of diosgenin isolated from Costus speciosus (Koen.) Sm

BACKGROUND Diosgenin, a naturally occurring steroid saponin found abundantly in C. speciosus, is a well-known precursor of various synthetic steroidal drugs that are extensively used in the pharmaceutical industry. METHODS The present study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro anticancer and apoptotic effects on cell proliferation of diosgenin isolated from C. speciosus (Koen.) Sm. RESULTS The results indicated that the treatment of HepG2 cells with the sample resulted in a cytotoxic effect as concluded from the IC50 value 32.62 μg/ml, while the treatment of HepG2 cells with paclitaxel, a known anti-cancer drug, resulted in an IC50 value of 0.48 μg/ml. The treatment of MCF-7 cells with the tested sample resulted in high inhibition in the cell viability, and resulted in an IC50 value of 11.03 μg/ml, while the treatment of MCF-7 cells with paclitaxel resulted in an IC50 value of 0.61 μg/ml. The levels of DR4 and caspase-3 were significantly increased (P<0.01) in MCF-7 cells treated with the tested sample compared to untreated cells and possessed a similar activity of paclitaxel in DR4 induction but lower induction in caspase-3. On the other hand the treatment of macrophages or lymphocytes with diosgenin (250 μg/ml) resulted in an induction in the cell proliferation up to 3.2-fold and 2.1-fold of control, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The results presented here may suggest that diosgenin isolated from C. speciosus possess anticancer and apoptotic effects on cell proliferation, and therefore, can be used as pharmaceuticals drugs.