Anti-cancer effects of hydro-alcoholic extract of pericarp of pistachio fruits

Objective: To investigate the cytotoxicity and anti-cancer effects of hydro-alcoholic extract of pistachio pericarp on hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) and mouse fibroblast L929 cells as normal and control group cell. Methods: MTT assay was performed to investigate the cytotoxicity effects of the extract at 0-4 000 μg/mL on the cells after 24 and 48 h. The expressions of some genes involved in apoptosis including Bax, Bcl-2 and P53 were investigated by real time PCR. Results: Our results showed that after 24 and 48 hours of treatment of cells with this extract, the viability of HepG2 and L929 cells was reduced. Therefore, this extract had the cytotoxicity effect on both cells. The IC50 concentration of extract for HepG2 cells after 24 and 48 hours of treatment was 1 500 and 1 000 μg/mL and for L929 cells was 2 000 and 1 500 μg/mL, respectively. The expressions of Bax and P53 genes were up-regulated after treatment in the HepG2 and L929 cells and the expression of Bcl-2 gene was down-regulated after treatment of extract in HepG2 cell. Conclusions: According to the results of MTT assay and real time PCR, this extract can be considered as a potential candidate for use in the production of anti-cancer drugs for the treatment of patients with liver cancer in future.