RESUMO
Aim: Investigation of apoptosis induction by methanolic extract of Clitoria ternatea L. flower against multiple cancer cell lines. Main Methods: In the present study cytotoxic activity of Clitoria ternatea L flower was determined using MTT cell viability assay. The induction of cell death/apoptosis was evaluated by light microscopy, DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 enzyme activation. Key Findings: The methanolic extract from C. ternatea (MECT) showed cytotoxic activity against several cancer cell lines. The most potent activity exhibited by MECT was against MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells with an IC50 value of 27.2 ± 2.6 μg/mL. Light microscopic evaluation clearly indicated the apoptotic morphology of MECT treated cells. Treatment of MCF-7 cells with various MECT concentrations resulted in growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis as indicated by DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 enzyme activation. Significance: The current report strongly suggests the pro-apoptotic properties of C. ternatea flowers. Our findings demonstrate that C. ternatea phyto-constituents may have beneficial applications in the field of anti-cancer drug discovery.