Effects of alpha, beta momorcharin fruit extract with the combination of paclitaxel in the treatment of glioma cancer in-vivo.

Abstract

The vegetable Momordica charantia L., (family: Cucurbitaceae) is a scientific name of the plant and its fruit. It is also known by other names, for instance in the USA it is known as Bitter gourd or balsam pear while its referred to as the African cucumber in many African countries.  M.charantiais believed to posse’s anti-carcinogenic properties and it can modulate its effect via xenobiotic metabolism and oxidative stress. This study was specifically designed to investigate the cellular mechanisms whereby α, β momorcharin an extract of M. charantiacan induce cell death with the combination of paclitaxel.  Different concentration (200µM - 1000µM)of the α, β momorcharin fruit extract were treated (24 hrs incubation) separately with three different cancer cell lines 1321N1, Gos-3, U87-MG and normal L6 muscle cell line. The results also show that paclitaxel(250 µg) with (1000 µM) of the α, β momorcharinextract of M. Charantia,and result in significant decreases in cell viability for each cell line, these effects were additive compared to the individual effect of paclitaxel.