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2025 Vol.37, Issue 2 Preview Page

Research Article

Anticancer Properties of Global Sorghum bicolor Seed Extracts via Apoptosis-Related Gene Regulation in Human Cancer Cells
Da Ye Ham1
,
Ji Won Seo1
,
Hong Ju Choi1
,
Jiu Park1
,
Jae Geun Lee2
,
Na Young Kim3
,
Chang Yeon Yu4
,
Eun Soo Seong4*
1Researcher, Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 2434, Republic of Korea
2Researcher, Research Institute of Biotechnology, Hwajinbiocosmetic, Chuncheon 24232, Republic of Korea
3Professor, Department of Hotel Culinary Arts, Songho University, Hoengseong 25242, Republic of Korea
4Professor, Division of Bioresource Sciences, Department of Applied Plant Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
*Corresponding Author
30 June 2025. pp. 76-85
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Abstract

Sorghum is a crop with various biological activities, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, as it contains abundant phenolic substances. In this study, the apoptotic effects of sorghum seed extracts collected from foreign regions on AGS and HCT116 cancer cells were evaluated. Cell viability was tested using the MTT assay, and morphological analysis was performed using a microscope. In addition, the mRNA expression levels of Bax/Bcl-2, Caspase-9, and Caspase-3 were analyzed using real-time PCR. According to the MTT analysis, when AGS cells were treated with the K159042 sorghum extract, the survival rate was the lowest at 5.2%, and when applied to HCT116 cells, the K159081 sorghum extract showed the lowest cell survival rate of 7.2%. Morphological analysis of sorghum seed extract-treated AGS and HCT116 cells showed that extracts of K159041, K159042, K159081, K159088, K159089, K159093, K159096, K159097, and K159100, but not K159048, K159077, and K159078, induced apoptosis. Analysis of the mRNA expression levels of Bax, Bcl-2, Caspase-9, and Caspase-3 showed that the sorghum resource with the highest Bax/Bcl-2 expression level in AGS cells was K159078, whereas K159081 and K159089 showed the highest expression levels of Caspase-9 and Caspase-3, respectively. In HCT116 cells, Bax/Bcl-2 expression was the highest under K159088, Caspase-9 expression was the highest under K159100, and Caspase-3 expression was the highest under K159093. These findings demonstrate that several sorghum seed extracts, particularly K159081, K159088, and K159093, significantly induced apoptosis via upregulation of Bax/Bcl-2 and caspases in AGS and HCT116 cells. Thus, the study successfully identified sorghum lines with potent anticancer potential, providing a basis for further phytochemical and mechanistic studies.

Keywords
AGS
Apoptotic effects
HCT116
MTT assay
Sorghum
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Information
  • Publisher :Agriculture and Life Sciences Research Institute, Kangwon National University
  • Publisher(Ko) :None
  • Journal Title :Journal of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences
  • Volume : 37
  • No :2
  • Pages :76-85
  • Received Date : 2025-04-18
  • Revised Date : 2025-04-20
  • Accepted Date : 2025-04-30
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.22698/jales.20250007
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