Evaluation of Cytotoxic Activity in vitro of Charantin A Extracted from Momordica charantia Zijun Guo, Guocai Wang, Maoxin Zhang, Guangwen Liang, Qiang Li and Bing Ling College of Plant Protection, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, P. R. China State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, P. R. China Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products, College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, P. R. China Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China Abstract: Charantins A is cucurbitane-type triterpene glycoside secondary metabolites derived from Momordica charantia . Here, biological activities of charantin A and mode of action to Spodoptera litura ovary cell line ( SpLi-221) were evaluated. We investigated the effects of charantins A on cell growth inhibition compared with charantins B, momordicin I and azadirachtin A. Among them, charantins A showed the most potent activity against SpLi-221 cells with the lowest IC 50 values, and in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the cell morphology changed after charantin A treatment, including cytoplasm leakage, irregular morphology, and apoptotic bodies. In addition, the flow cytometry assay confirmed that charantin A promoted the occurrence of cells’ G2/M block and apoptosis, as evidenced by an increased ratio of cells in the sub-G1 phase. Furthermore, cell membrane disruption and increase of intracellular calcium levels were observed following charantin A treatment. These findings provide new clues regarding the role of cucurbitane-type triterpene glycosides as potential novel pesticides for pest control. Keywords: |