Role of the Red Fruit (Pandanus conoideus LAM) Ethyl Acetate Fraction on the Induction of Apoptosis vs. Downregulation of Survival Signaling Pathways in Cervical Cancer Cells

Red fruit (Pandanus conoideus Lam) has been used as a traditional herbal medicine in Papua and also as an agent against malignant diseases empirically. To elucidate the detailed mechanisms producing such an activity, the characterization and determination of the molecular mechanisms of its antitumor effects were conducted. The inhibitory activities against cervical cancer cell proliferation and the expression levels of corresponding molecules were investigated using human cervical cancer cells treated with the ethyl acetate fraction of red fruit extract (EtOAc RF). The EtOAc RF possessed strong anti-proliferation activities against HeLa and CaSki cells. Furthermore, the down regulation of the expression of phosphorylated Akt and mTOR in the cells was induced shortly after treatment with the fraction, followed by the activation of caspase-8, caspase-9, caspase-3, p53 serine 46 and PARP along with the suppression of the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins and Akt–mTOR, leading to apoptotic cell death. Taken together, these results suggest that red fruit extract could be a promising agent against cervical cancer cells.