(500.6) Studying the Impact of Annonaceous Acetogenin, A Prominent Component in Graviola Leaves, on the Growth of Glioblastoma Cancer Cells

Poster Board Number: A222

Nisreen Nusair (York College of Pennsylvania), Hana Yoseph (York College of Pennsylvania)

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States. In 2018, for every 100,000 people, 436 new cancer cases were reported and 149 people died of cancer.  This research focuses on studying the impact of natural chemical compounds extracted from healthful food products, such as plant herbs on modulating cancer metabolism to potentially use these compounds as cancer therapeutic agents.

This study investigates the effects of the natural chemical compound, Annonaceous Acetogenin (ACGs), that is a prominent component in the graviola plant leaves on the growth of glioblastoma cancer cells, U87MG.  It is hypothesized that ACGs can reduce the growth of glioblastoma cancer cells.

The presence of ACGs in the extract sample has been verified using the Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight, also known as MALDI-TOF. Then, extract samples with different concentrations of ACGs have been prepared and applied to glioblastoma cancer cells.  Using the light microscope, images have shown that ACGs has significantly reduced the proliferation of glioblastoma cancer cells, when compared to the control samples.  To confirm the results that have been observed in the images, a cell proliferation assay has been performed to detect the number of viable cells.  In wells of a 96-well plate, different concentrations of ACGs have been added to glioblastoma cancer cell samples.  The absorbances at 490 nm were recorded using an ELISA plate reader.  The results indicate a linear response between the cell number and absorbance at 490nm.  The data suggests that as the amount of ACGs added to the cancer cells increases, the cell number (absorbance value) decreases.

In conclusion, this research work suggests that ACGs, a prominent component in graviola leaves, can significantly reduce the growth of the glioblastoma cancer cells.  Further investigations are necessary to examine how this natural chemical extract exhibits an anticancer effect and how it can potentially be used as a therapeutic agent against cancer.