Objective: Prostate cancer has been diagnosed as the second most common cancer in men around the world. The present study was conducted with the aim of utilizing the cytotoxic function of Amygdalus scoparia against prostate cancer.
Materials and Methods: Bee pollen loads from A. scoparia were collected from pollen traps, purified and identified, and then, its methanolic extract was obtained and, [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] MTT, flow cytometry, real time PCR, and ELISA assays and (Gas Chromatography) GC methods were used. The protein and saponin contents and specific catalase activity of A. scoparia pollen extract was determined. Data were analyzed by SPSS V.22 software.
Results: A. scoparia pollen extract had a concentration- and time-dependent cytotoxic effect on PC-3 cancer cell line. Eight fatty acids were found in the pollen extract, with the highest amount related to palmitoleic acid (28.51%). The cytotoxic effect on Human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) cell line was significantly lower than that on PC3 cancer cells (1.9-fold), which caused cell cycle arrest in the sub-G1 phase and induced apoptosis in cancer cells. The expression levels of p21, p53 and Bax genes was significantly increased and the expression level of Bcl-2 gene was significantly decreased. Our findings introduced A. scoparia pollen extract as an anticancer compound against prostate cancer cells.
Conclusion: Many anticancer drugs damage healthy cells, but A. scoparia had good antitoxic effects only against prostate cancer cells, not healthy cells.