Okra Orchestrates Melanoma Cell Fate: Insights Into Its Anticancer Potential
Description
Background: Skin cancer including melanoma is the most prevalent malignancy in world, with further importance in Iowa due to the higher proportion of farmers and other agricultural workers. Okra is a plant containing many flavonoids and phenols and has been proven to induce anti cancer activity on breast, hepatocellular, cervical, and colon cancers. Although the anti-cancer effect of okra has been reported in mouse cell lines and human 451Lu and WM35 melanoma cells lines, it role in a widely studied HTB-72 melanoma cell line is still unknown. This study aims to investigate the effect okra on growth of HTB-72 melanoma cells and its possible molecular mechanisms.
Methods: Clonogenic survival assay, cell proliferation and caspase-3 activity kits as well as TUNEL staining were used to evaluate the effects of okra extract (OE) on cell survival, proliferation, and apoptosis of a widely used melanoma cell line, HTB-72. We further investigated the possible molecular mechanisms of any aforementioned changes with RT-PCR and IHC.
Results: We found that the percentage of colonies and the OD value of HTB-72 cells decreased in the OE treated group compared to those in the control group. The relative caspase-3 activity and the percentage of TUNEL+ cells in HTB-72 cells increased in the GE treated group compared to that in the control group. The underlying molecular mechanisms are still in investigation.
Conclusions: Okra demonstrates potential anticancer activity by inhibition of cell proliferation and promotion of cell apoptosis.
Citation Information
Schmidt, Aidan A.; Marrah, Austin J.; Keeton, Nathaniel K.; Cowan, Braydon; Mayberry, Trenton; Maher, Austin J.; Ha, Augustine V. H.; Wakefield, Mark R.; and Fang, Yujiang, "Okra Orchestrates Melanoma Cell Fate: Insights Into Its Anticancer Potential" (2026). Office of Research DMU Research Symposium. 55.
https://digitalcommons.dmu.edu/researchsymposium/2025rs/2025abstracts/55
Okra Orchestrates Melanoma Cell Fate: Insights Into Its Anticancer Potential
Background: Skin cancer including melanoma is the most prevalent malignancy in world, with further importance in Iowa due to the higher proportion of farmers and other agricultural workers. Okra is a plant containing many flavonoids and phenols and has been proven to induce anti cancer activity on breast, hepatocellular, cervical, and colon cancers. Although the anti-cancer effect of okra has been reported in mouse cell lines and human 451Lu and WM35 melanoma cells lines, it role in a widely studied HTB-72 melanoma cell line is still unknown. This study aims to investigate the effect okra on growth of HTB-72 melanoma cells and its possible molecular mechanisms.
Methods: Clonogenic survival assay, cell proliferation and caspase-3 activity kits as well as TUNEL staining were used to evaluate the effects of okra extract (OE) on cell survival, proliferation, and apoptosis of a widely used melanoma cell line, HTB-72. We further investigated the possible molecular mechanisms of any aforementioned changes with RT-PCR and IHC.
Results: We found that the percentage of colonies and the OD value of HTB-72 cells decreased in the OE treated group compared to those in the control group. The relative caspase-3 activity and the percentage of TUNEL+ cells in HTB-72 cells increased in the GE treated group compared to that in the control group. The underlying molecular mechanisms are still in investigation.
Conclusions: Okra demonstrates potential anticancer activity by inhibition of cell proliferation and promotion of cell apoptosis.
