Cytotoxic effect of Spirulina platensis extracts on human acute leukemia Kasumi-1 and chronic myelogenous leukemia K-562 cell lines

Objective: To evaluate the cytotoxic effects of Spirulina platensis extracts on acute leukemia Kasumi-1 and chronic leukemia K-562 cancer cell lines.Methods: Various concentrations of Spirulina platensis extracts(0.25–50.00 mg/m L)obtained with different solvents were used to treat cell lines for 72 h. For cytotoxic effect studies, cell viability test with trypan blue solution, MTT assay and microscopic cytomorphological assessment were done.Results: Spirulina extract obtained with 70% ethanol showed significant cytotoxicity in K562 and Kasumi-1 cell lines. With trypan blue solution, IC_(50) values were found to be4.64 mg/m L for K-562 and 3.68 mg/m L for Kusumi-1 cell lines. Spirulina aqueous extract also showed cytotoxicity with trypan blue method, at a slightly higher dose; where IC_(50) values were 12.68 mg/m L for K-562 and 2.13 mg/m L for Kusumi-1 cell lines. The IC_(50) values were found 0.40 mg/m L for K-562 and 0.31 mg/m L for Kusumi-1 cell lines for the 70% ethanol extract according to the MTT assay. Spirulina extract obtained with water also showed cytotoxicity but the dose was a little higher where IC_(50) values were15.77 mg/m L for K-562 and 9.44 mg/m L for Kusumi-1 cell lines. The effect of cytotoxicity with ethanol extract is quite comparable with that observed for cyclophosphamide, which is a chemical used as anticancer agent.Conclusions: The cytotoxicity exhibited by Spirulina extract to cancer cell lines might be due to the presence of phytopigments(carotenoids, chlorophyll, phycocyanin) as well as polysaccharides that were reported previously as constituents of the extract. So crude extracts of Spirulina can be used as a source to develop anticancer drugs.

Rapid,Efficient and High-Performance Protocol for Agrobacterium rhizogenes-Mediated Hairy Root Transformation of the Common Bean Phaseolus vulgaris

A rapid, efficient and high-performance transformation protocol employing Agrobacterium rhizogenes was developed for the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris. In this study, we examined competencies of various protocols to induce and explants that respond to hairy root transformation in bean plants. Utilizing young seedlings with severed radicles/hypocotyls, we developed a highly efficient procedure for achieving hairy root transformation frequencies as high as 100% as visualized by GUS reporter gene expression system. Transgenic hairy roots in these young composite plants were susceptible to nodulation by rhizobia, and form an excellent system for high throughput genomic analysis to study root biology and endosymbiosis in common bean.