Abstract:The inhibitory effect of saffron water extract on the proliferation of HO-8910 human ovarian cancer cell was investigated. The experiment was divided into cell group, saffron water extract low-dose group (0.4 mg/L), medium dose group (0.8 mg/L) and high-dose group (1.0 mg/L). After HO-8910 cells were successfully cultured, they were treated with different concentrations of affron water extract. The proliferation ability of ovarian cancer cells and the content of extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK), Bcl-2 and Bax protein were detected. The results showed that in the experimental concentration range, the growth rate of ovarian cancer cells was significantly inhibited with the increase of saffron water extract concentration. At 24 h, 48 h and 72 h, the proliferation rates of high dose group were 14.13%, 12.15%, and 11.16%, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of other experimental groups (p<0.05). Furthermore, the inhibition rates of saffron water extract on ovarian cancer cell apoptosis and invasion were 20.11% and 64.24%, respectively. The protein expression levels of ERK, Bcl-2 and Bax were 0.61, 0.48 and 0.95, respectively, which were significantly different than those of other experimental groups (p<0.05). These results indicated that saffron water extract could significantly inhibit the activity of ovarian cancer cells, reduce the proliferation and invasion ability of ovarian cancer cells, and its mechanism might be related to ERK signaling pathway.
