ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2019 September;178(9):669-75

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.18.03897-4

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Radish (Raphanus sativus) extract downregulates VEGF, TNF-α, and 5α-R2 gene expressions in HaCaT cells: possible implications for the relevant dermatoses

Erkin PEKMEZCI ¹ ✉, Murat TÜRKOĞLU ²

¹ Department of Dermatology, Gozde Hospital, Malatya, Turkey; ² Research and Development Center, Biota Laboratories, Istanbul, Turkey

BACKGROUND: Raphanus sativus (Rs), a cruciferous plant of Eurasian origin, has been used for plenty of diseases in traditional medicine. Up to date several studies were performed showing its anticarcinogenic, antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory effects. Although the general health promoting effects of Rs were documented to a certain extent, specific studies in dermatology for this plant is lacking. We investigated the molecular basis of antiproliferative, antiinflammatory, and probable antiandrogenic effects of Rs extract in skin, by determining gene expression levels of VEGF, TNF-α, and 5α-R2 in a human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT).
METHODS: After the preparation of Rs tuber extract, determination of non-cytotoxic concentration, and performing the phenolic content and antioxidative capacity analyses, HaCaT cells were treated with the extract. RNA isolations were carried out from both non-treated and treated cell groups. Gene expressions were determined by RT-qPCR analysis.
RESULTS: Results were represented as Target/Control Fold Change. Results of gene expression analyses showed that the plant extract caused statistically significant downregulation of VEGF (0.1400, P<0.0001), TNF-α (0.4733, P=0.0278), and 5α-R2 (0.0867, P<0.0001) gene expressions, compared to untreated control cells.
CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results may partially explain the clinical success of Rs in the traditional medicine. Considering these results, topical Rs tuber extract may be beneficial for some non-invasive tumors, inflammatory disorders and androgen dependent diseases of the skin.

KEY WORDS: Raphanus; Vascular endothelial growth factors; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; Cholestenone 5 alpha-reductase