In vitro cytotoxicity of polyphenols from Datura innoxia aqueous leaf-extract on human leukemia K562 cells: DNA and nuclear proteins as targets.

Leukemia is a malignant hematological disease and chemotherapy remains the most important tool for its treatment. As chemotherapy has many side effects and could lead to resistance in cancer cells, plant-based medication is being considered as a new strategy in cancer treatment. Datura innoxia from the Solanaceae family is used in traditional medicine. The present study investigated the effect of an aqueous extract of D. innoxia aqueous leaf-extract on human chronic myeloid leukemia cells (K562 cell line) and human B lymphoblastoid cells (FS-2 cells) as the noncancerous cell line. The interaction of the D. innoxia extract with double-stranded DNA and histones was studied using multiple spectroscopic techniques. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined through colorimetric analysis and the major polyphenols were quantified by HPLC-DAD analysis. The results demonstrated that the D. innoxia extract inhibited proliferation of the K562 cell line in a dose- and time-dependent manner (IC₅₀ = 0.6 mg/ml), but had a slightly toxic effect on human B lymphoblastoid cells. The spectroscopy results suggest that the D. innoxia extract interacted with both DNA and histones in solution and that D. innoxia could be suggested as an anticancer drug.