Analysis of Cytotoxic Activity and Synergistic Effect of Curcuma Longa Extract in Combination with Prednisolone on Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cell Lines

Curcuma Longa (CL) extract is a natural compound derived from the roots of Curcuma Longa. Prednisolone is a synthetic glucocorticoid and one of the most important pharmaceutical agents used for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
We investigated the cytotoxic effect of Curcuma Longa extract and the synergistic effect of Curcuma Longa extract in combination with Prednisolone on acute lymphoblastic leukemia Nalm-6 and REH cell lines.
The obtained results of this research revealed that CL extract led to the death of Nalm-6 and REH cells, while Prednisolone demonstrated cytotoxic effects solely on the Nalm-6 cells. In addition, after combining CL extract and Prednisolone, the synergistic effect was observed only on Nalm-6 cells. The outcome of treatment on normal MDBK cells was the viability of most of the cells. CL extract induced apoptosis and increased expression of the Bax gene and caspase-3 activity. It also reduced Bcl-2 gene expression in Nalm-6 cells, and the aforementioned effects were amplified in the presence of prednisolone. In REH cells, CL extract induced apoptosis and increased Bax gene expression and caspase-3 activity. It also reduced expression of the Bcl-2 gene.
In general, our findings suggest that CL extract has cytotoxic effects on acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells and it also amplifies the cytotoxic effect of prednisolone on Nalm-6 cells.