dc.description.abstract | The roles of natural product in drug discovery and development cannot be over emphasised. It
plays a vital role in human therapy and gives a better understanding on the cellular
pathways.This study investigated the modulatory effects of partially purified fractions of Piper
guineense Schumach. & Thonn. (Piperaceae), Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides Lam. (Rutaceae),
Amaranthus viridis L. (Amaranthaceae), Costus afer Ker-Gawl. (Zingiberaceae) and
Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. (Apocynaceae) on oestrogen receptor-α (ESR-α), tumour
protein p53 (TP-53), retinoblastoma (RB) and NAD(P) H quinine oxidoreductase (NQO1)
genes in cervical cancer cell line (HeLa cells). n-Hexane, ethylacetate, chloroform, and water
fractions of 80% ethanol extracts of study plants were screened with brine shrimp lethality and
water-soluble tetrazolium-1 (WST-1) cytotoxicity assay. HeLa cells were treated with 1:10
dilutions of IC50 concentrations of test fractions for 24 hours, total RNA was extracted, RNA
quality was checked, and normalized to a baseline concentration. Gene expression were
monitored by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results showed that ESR-α was downregulated (p < 0.05) by P. guineense-hexane, C. roseuschloroform and A. viridis-ethylacetate fractions. | en_US |