Ellagic acid is a polyphenolic compound that is found in strawberries, blueberries, and other fruit. It has anti-fibrotic and antioxidant properties, and has been shown to induce apoptosis in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines in vitro at physiologic concentrations. It was proposed that the mechanism of apoptotic induction involved the inhibition of the NF-\#954;B pathway. The cytotoxicity of ellagic acid on multiple melanoma cell lines (WM852c, A375, SK-Mel-30, HT-144, 1205LU, and RPMI-7951) was examined using Cell Titer 96 Aqueous One solution cell proliferation assay (MTS assay). Apoptosis was assayed by ethidium bromide and acridine orange morphologic assays, flow cytometry, and active caspase-3 assays. Ellagic acid induced apoptosis in several melanoma cell lines at 25 to 100 micromolar concentrations during a 72-hour incubation period. This study supports a possible role of ellagic acid as a therapeutic, adjuvant, or chemopreventive agent for melanoma.

Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 2694.

100th AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 18-22, 2009; Denver, CO

American Association for Cancer Research
2009