CYTOTOXIC EFFECT OF A LECTIN FROM CYMB1DWM ALOIFOUUM ON HUMAN COLORECTAL CANCER CELL LINES

摘要

Cymbidium aloifolium (Orchidaceae), an orchid with anti-viral properties was found to contain a novel mannose- specific lectin CAA (Cymbidium, aloifolium Agglutinin) with potential biological activities. C.aloifolium is an economically and medicinallyimportant species occurring mostly in Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats region. The lectin was prepared from the leaves of the mature plant collected during the flowering season. The crude extract was subjected to affinity purification with an overall yield of 37 mg. A cell viability assay was performed using three human cell lines, viz., fibroblast cells, colorectal Aden carcinoma cell line (SW 480) and colorectal orectal carcinoma cell line (HCT 116) at different time points. It was found that10/ig/ml concentration of CAA being the most effective in killing the cancer cells specifically (LD50). The degree of CAA cytotoxicity was found to be comparatively stronger on SW480 than HCT 116.