Alhagi-honey and its compound abnormal savda munziq (ASMq) inhibit proliferation and enhance apoptosis of human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells

Objective: To investigate the effects of alhagi-honey and abnormal savda munziq (ASMq) on the proliferation and apoptosis of human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells and the related molecular mechanisms. Method: Human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells were treated with alhagi-honey, ASMq, or 5-FU (positive control). Cell proliferation was assessed with the CCK-8 assay, and the cell cycle and cellular apoptotic process were detected with flow cytometry. The mRNA and protein expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins were determined with quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Results: Both the treatments of alhagi-honey and ASMq significantly increased the inhibitory rates of cell proliferation in human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells, in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the treatments of alhagi-honey and ASMq induce the G0/G1 phase arrest of human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells. Furthermore, both the alhagi-honey and ASMq treatments significantly elevated the apoptosis rates of human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells. In addition, the treatments of alhagi-honey and ASMq significantly decreased the expression levels of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and EGFR, while increased the expression level of pro-apoptotic protein Bax in human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells. Conclusion: Alhagi-honey and its compound ASMq could significantly inhibit the proliferation and enhance the apoptosis of human hepatoma BEL-7402 cells, which would be associated with the down-regulated Bcl-2 and EGFR expression levels and the up-regulated Bax expression level in these cells. These findings might provide evidence for the application of alhagi-honey and its compound ASMq in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in clinic.