Page 47 - Book of Abstracts

th
8 Biannual Conference on Chemistry - CHEM 08

Anticancer Effect of Amygdalin (Vitamin B-17) on

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Line (HepG2) in the Presence
and Absence of Zinc

Mohamed A. El-Desouky , Abdelgawad A. Fahmi ,*, Ibrahim Y.
1
1
Abdelkader and Karima M. Nasraldin
2
2
1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt;
2 Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, The British University in
Egypt (BUE), El-Shorouk, Egypt

ABSTRACT
Background:
Amygdalin (Vitamin B-17) is a naturally occurring vitamin found in the seeds of
the fruits of Prunus Rosacea family including apricot, bitter almond, cherry, and
peach.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of amygdalin with and
without zinc on hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line.
Methods:
MTT assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of amygdalin without zinc,
amygdalin + 20µmolzinc, and amygdalin + 800µmol zinc on HepG2 cell lines.
The cell cycle distribution assay was determined by flow cytometry. Apoptosis
was confirmed by Annexin V-FITC/PI staining assay. Moreover, the pathway of
apoptosis was determined by the percentage of change in the mean levels of P53,
Bcl2, Bax,cytochrome c, and caspase-3.
Results:
Amygdalin without zinc showed strong anti-HepG2 activity. Furthermore,
HepG2 cell lines treatment with amygdalin + 20µmol zinc and amygdalin +
800µmol zinc showed a highly significant apoptotic effect than the effect of
amygdalin without zinc. Amygdalin treatment induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M
and increased the levels of P53, Bax, cytochrome c, and caspase-3 significantly,
while it decreased the level of anti-apoptotic Bcl2.
Conclusion:
Amygdalin is a natural anti-cancer agent, which can be used for the treatment of
hepatocellular carcinoma. It promotes apoptosis via the intrinsic cell death
pathway (the mitochondria-initiated pathway) and cell cycle arrest at G/M. The
potency of amygdalin in HepG2 treatment increased significantly by the addition
of zinc.
Keywords:
Amygdalin, vitamin B-17, hepatocellular carcinoma, anti-cancer, Bcl2, caspase-
3, P53, zinc.

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS CHEM 08 (2020) Page 46