Leptospermum petersonii methanol and ethyl acetate crude extracts as antimetastatic and apoptotic effects against pancreatic and prostate cancer cells

Cancer remains number one health care challenge worldwide with an estimation of 1 in 9 people developing cancer in their lifetime. As cancer becomes increasingly prevalent, research focuses on finding palliative care and natural treatments that could transform cancer therapeutics. The aim of the project was to investigate the anti-cancer and anti-metastatic effects of medicinal plant Leptospermum petersonii 's active compounds against pancreatic and prostate cancer cells. The following techniques were employed: TLC, Column and NMR chromatography, alamarblue assay, ATP assay, wound healing assay, Hoechst Staining, caspase assay, Agarose gel (DNA fragmentation analysis) and RT-PCR. Through cell viability assay and IC₅₀ of approximately 100 µg/mL for the methanolic crude extract was identified with greater cytotoxic effect on MIA PaCa-2 than PC3 cells. The EtOAc extract showed cytotoxicity indices IC₅₀ > 100 µg/mL signifying 60% of the cells were viable even at a dose of 100 µg/mL and thus led to the termination of additional testing because of its ineffective potency. Caspase 3/7 assay and DNA fragmentation had shown some positive result in support of apoptosis. Wound healing demonstrated untreated cells healed the gap in 24 hours, whereas treated cells took longer to do so. Gene expression showed upregulation of RB1 and checkpoint 1 which are necessary for DNA damage and apoptosis induction. In conclusion, the results suggest that there might be compounds within L. petersonii extracts that can be exploited for anticancer agent.