Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Jan 6;52(1):102.
doi: 10.1007/s11033-024-10200-9.

Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Moringa oleifera leaves induce selective cytotoxicity in Raji and Jurkat cell lines by activating the P21 pathway independent of P53

Leila Rajabi  1 , Mostafa Ebrahimdoost  1 , Seyed Amin Mohammadi  1 , Hamed Soleimani Samarkhazan  2   3 , Gholamreza Khamisipour  4 , Mojtaba Aghaei  5   6
Affiliations

Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Moringa oleifera leaves induce selective cytotoxicity in Raji and Jurkat cell lines by activating the P21 pathway independent of P53

Leila Rajabi et al. Mol Biol Rep. .

Abstract

Background: The traditional use of Moringa oleifera (MO), an essential food source in Africa and Asia, to cure various diseases dates back thousands of years. This study examines the aqueous and ethanolic leaf extracts of MO's in vitro anti-leukemia capabilities.

Methods: After preparing aqueous and ethanolic MO leaf extracts, cells were treated with various concentrations for 48 h. Cell viability was measured via MTT assay, and apoptotic pathways were analyzed using flow cytometry and Annexin V-PI staining. Following RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, cells were exposed to the IC50 (150 µg/ml) for 48 h. Real-time PCR assessed the expression of P21, P53, BCL2, and Survivin genes. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) served as the control group.

Results: MO aqueous and ethanol extracts showed cytotoxicity, with cancer cells being more sensitive. Flow cytometry confirmed higher apoptotic activity in Jurkat and Raji cells compared to PBMCs. The extracts increased P21 expression in Jurkat cells but did not significantly affect P53, BCL2, or Survivin. Similarly, in Raji cells, P21, BCL2, and Survivin were elevated, while P53 remained unchanged. Gene expression in healthy PBMCs was unaffected by the extracts.

Conclusion: This study shows that leukemia cells (Raji and Jurkat) are more sensitive to MO's aqueous and ethanolic extracts than healthy cells. The results suggest developing MO extracts as a cutting-edge leukemia treatment.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Jurkat cells; Leukemia; Moringa oleifera; Raji cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical approval: The Bushehr University of Medical Sciences’ ethics committee has given its approval for this work. The (IR.BPUMS.REC.1398.156) is the reference number. Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Soerjomataram I et al (2024) Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. Cancer J Clin 74(3):229–263 - DOI
    1. Szebeni GJ, Balog JA, Demjén A, Alföldi R, Végi VL, Fehér LZ et al (2018) Imidazo [1, 2-b] pyrazole-7-carboxamides induce apoptosis in human leukemia cells at nanomolar concentrations. Molecules 23(11):2845 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Aghapour SA, Torabizadeh M, Bahreiny SS, Saki N, Jalali Far MA, Yousefi-Avarvand A et al (2024) Investigating the dynamic interplay between Cellular Immunity and Tumor cells in the Fight Against Cancer: an updated Comprehensive Review. IJBC 16(2):84–101
    1. Terwilliger T, Abdul-Hay M (2017) Acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a comprehensive review and 2017 update. Blood cancer J 7(6):e577–e - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Mishra R, Sharma S, Sharma RS, Singh S, Sardesai MM, Sharma S et al (2018) Viscum Articulatum Burm. f. aqueous extract exerts antiproliferative effect and induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in leukemia cells. J Ethnopharmacol 219:91–102 - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources