Investigating Cytotoxic Effect and Molecular Mechanisms of Quinoa Seed Extract Against Human Lung Cancer Cell Line

Lung cancer is one of the most common leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Despite recent advances in therapeutic approaches, common methods are not fully effective. Thus, researchers are looking for some novel complementary agents to improve the effectiveness of therapies. Emerging evidence has shown the antitumor activity of several natural components such as quinoa seed extracts in various types of cancer.

Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the antiproliferation and anti-apoptotic activity of quinoa on the A549 lung cancer cell line.

The cell viability of A549 cells treated with quinoa was detected using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The expression levels of BAX and BCL2 as apoptosis-related genes were assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Finally, the statistical analysis was performed using GraphPad Prism version 7.

Our findings demonstrated that the cell viability decreased in a concentration and time-dependent manner. Also, treating A549 cells with doses of 1.60 and 1.92 mg/mL of quinoa seed extracts could increase BAX and decrease BCL2 expression levels (P < 0.05). However, the higher dose (1.92 mg/mL) was significantly effective.

According to this study, quinoa seed extract could induce apoptosis in lung cancer cells (A549) throughout the increased ratio of BAX/BCL2. However, further investigations are required to confirm the results.