In view of the continuing need for effective anticancer agents, and the association of diet with reduced cancer risk, edible plants are increasingly being considered as sources of anticancer drugs. Hibiscus sabdariffa Linne (Malvaceae), an attractive plant believed to be native to Africa, is cultivated in the Sudan and Eastern Taiwan. Polyphenols had been demonstrated previously to possess antioxidative and antitumor promoting effects. In this study, investigations were conducted to examine the mechanism of the anticancer activity of H. sabdariffa L., Hibiscus polyphenol-rich extracts (HPE). Using HPLC assay, HPE was demonstrated to contain various polyphenols. HPE induced cell death of eight kinds of cell lines in a concentration-dependent manner. Among them human gastric carcinoma (AGS) cells were the most susceptible to HPE (0.95 mg/mL HPE inhibited its growth by 50%). Our results revealed that AGS cells underwent DNA fragmentation, and had an increase in the distribution of hypodiploid phase (apoptotic peak, 52.36%) after a 24-h treatment with HPE (2.0 mg/mL). This effect of HPE in AGS cells might be mediated via p53 signaling and p38 MAPK/FasL cascade pathway, as demonstrated by an increase in the phosphorylation of p53 and the usage of a specific p38 inhibitor, SB203580. Thus, our data present the first evidence of HPE as an apoptosis inducer in AGS cells and these findings may open interesting perspectives to the strategy in human gastric cancer treatment.
