A multitude of plants have been used extensively for the treatment of
cancers throughout the world. The
protein, α, β
momorcharin has been extracted from the plant Momordica charantia (MC), and it possesses anti-
cancer and anti-HIV properties similar to the crude water and
methanol soluble extract of the plant. This study investigated the anti-
cancer effects and the cellular mechanisms of action of α, β momocharin (200-800 μM) on 1321N1, Gos-3, U87-MG, Sk Mel, Corl-23 and Weri Rb-1
cancer cell lines compared to normal healthy L6 muscle cell line measuring cell viability using MTT assay kit,
Caspase-3 and 9 activities,
cytochrome c release and intracellular free
calcium concentrations [Ca(2+)]i. The results show that α, β
momorcharin can evoke significant dose-dependent (P < 0.05; Student's t test) decreases in the viability (increases in cell death) of 1321N1, Gos-3, U87-MG, Sk Mel, Corl-23 and Weri Rb-1
cancer cell lines compared to healthy L6 muscle cell line and untreated
glioma cells. α, β
momorcharin (800 μM) also evoked significant (P < 0.05) increases in
caspase-3 and 9 activities and
cytochrome c release. Similarly, α, β
momorcharin elicited significant (P < 0.05) time-dependent elevation in [Ca(2+)]i in all five
glioma cell lines compared to untreated cells. Together, the results have demonstrated that α, β
momorcharin can exert its anti-
cancer effect on different
cancer cell lines by intracellular processes involving an insult to the mitochondria resulting in cellular
calcium over loading, apoptosis,
cytochrome release and subsequently, cell death.