Comparison Cytotoxic Effects of Mangifera Indica L. and Juglans Regia Aqueous Extract on Human Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Natural products isolated from plant sources are well known for their pharmacological potential in diversity of disease treatments such as inflammatory or cancer conditions. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) and Juglans regia are thought to be rich of functional phytochemicals. To elucidate the anticancer activity of Juglans regia (JR) and Mangifera indica L (MI) aqueous extract were investigated on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B lymphocytes and their mitochondria and the results were compared with those of normal B lymphocytes. Cellular parameters such as viability and caspase 3 activity, and mitochondrial parameters such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondria membrane potential (MMP), mitochondrial swelling and cytochrome c release were evaluated. Our results showed the extract of Mangifera indica L increased cytotoxicity and caspase 3 activation through mitochondria pathway only in CLL B lymphocytes and also the extract of Juglans regia not showed cytotoxicity and caspase 3 activation on CLL and healthy B lymphocytes. Our in vitro findings on isolated mitochondria showed that mitochondrial ROS formation, MMP collapse, and mitochondrial swelling and cytochrome c release were significantly (P < 0.05) increased after addition of Mangifera indica only in cancerous mitochondria. These results showed that Mangifera indica can act as a promising source for anti-cancer drug candidates by directly and selectively targeting mitochondria and inducing selective mitochondria mediated apoptosis on CLL B lymphocytes.