Chrysin, a natural and biologically active flavonoid suppresses tumor growth of mouse B16F10 melanoma cells: In vitro and In vivo study.

Chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone) is a natural and biologically active compound which has many biological activities as an anticancer agent. The current report is aimed at finding out whether the antitumor potential of chrysin, evidenced in vitro and in vivo, is linked or not to its effect on immunological mechanisms of melanoma-bearing mice. Chrysin-treated B16F10 cells were analyzed for their metabolic rate and apoptotic potentials. In vivo, BALB/c mice received a subcutaneous injection of B16F10 melanoma cells prior to antitumor treatments with chrysin (50 mg/kg b.w) for 14 days and 21 days. The results showed that chrysin inhibited cancer cell growth at a dose-dependent manner by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase. Moreover, chrysin suppressed melanoma tumor growth at an average of 60% (after 14 days of treatment) and 71% (after 21 days of treatment) compared to the tumor-bearing group. Furthermore, chrysin treatment increased the cytotoxic activity of NK, CTL and macrophages. The findings showed that chrysin antitumor action on the murine melanoma model was very promising, suggesting that chrysin could be a potentially good candidate for future use in alternative anti-melanoma treatments.