Assessment of Chemopreventive Effect of Oridonin Extract On Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Line

Background: Oridonin extract has a wide range of pharmacological and therapeutic aspects including reactive oxygen species scavenging and anti-inflammatory effects. Moreover, the effect of Oridonin extract has been studied in many cancers such as hepatic and breast cancer and showed cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects against cancer cell lines.Aim: To assess and compare the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effect of Oridonin, cetuximab and their combination in cultured oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line (tongue).Material and methods: Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell line was divided into 4 groups: control group, group treated with Oridonin extract, group treated with cetuximab and group treated with a combination of both. Cell viability was measured using microculture tetrazolium assay, apoptotic activity was evaluated using polymerase chain reaction and epidermal growth factor receptor levels was measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Results: Oridonin extract succeeded to decrease the percentage of viable and proliferating cells. Furthermore, it increased the levels of caspase-3 and decreased epidermal growth factor receptor expression. The highest level of expression of caspase -3 was found in the combination group with a 20.75 fold change. Correspondingly, epidermal growth factor receptor expression was the least in the combination group, with an IC50 of 9.96.Conclusion: Oridonin extract has a potential cytotoxic effect on oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line and exerts this action through induction of apoptosis and its action is comparable to cetuximab.Keywords: cetuximab, oridonin, epidermal growth factor receptor, oral squamous cell carcinoma, synergistic anticancer effects, apoptosis