Comparison between the ability of ginger, pomegranate and curcumin to inhibit migration and invasion of U87 cells

Abstract

Aim: Cancer is considered as one of the fatal diseases in most countries. Despite the high medical care development, most cancers are resistant to treatment. Therefore, there is a continuous research for novel treatment methods.

This study investigated the effect of curcumin, from Curcuma longa, different concentrations of soaked ginger and pomegranate juice on the invasion of U87 glioma cell line spheres in 3D collagen model. Furthermore, this study investigated the anti-migration effects of the mentioned plants on the migration of the same cell line in scratch assay.

Method: The Study was done in the department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. The 3D invasion assay and 2D migration assays were used to fulfill the mentioned aims in addition to the Image J program that was used to analyze the area of invasion and the area of migration over the days of applying the assays.

Results: Gradual effect of curcumin, the soaked ginger and Pomegranate juice was noticed on the inhibition of the invasion of U87 in collagen and on the inhibition of the migration of the same cell line in scratch assay in a dose and time-dependent manner. However, the results were more potent in migration compared to invasion.

Conclusion: This work adds more proofs on the importance of curcumin; ginger; and pomegranate juice as anti-invasive and anti-migration agents and opens the door for more investigative studies