Urtica dioica effect on cell proliferations in C6 glioma cells

Millions of people worldwide are affected by various forms of cancer, which continues to be a global health concern. Due to its poor prognosis and limited therapy options, glioma a particularly aggressive kind of brain cancer, offers major therapeutic challenges. Traditional treatments including chemotherapy and radiation therapy have had mixed results and important adverse effects. In order to support current therapies, there is rising interest in researching alternative strategies, such as using herbal medicinal plants. Urtica dioica, has gained attention as a viable candidate with possible anticancer effects. Using a variety of tests, this study examined the effects of Urtica dioica extract on C6 glioblastoma cells. With an IC50 of 83.17µg/ml, the MTT experiment demonstrated a considerable cytotoxic impact. At a concentration of 25 µg/mL and 50 µg/mL, the extract also showed a significant decrease in cell growth using the Xceligence assay. The experiment of the total oxidative stress (TOS) and total antioxidant status (TAS) indicating a reduction in oxidative stress and an improvement in antioxidant capacity. Our immunofluorescence analysis revealed that treatment of C6 glioma cells with Urtica dioica extract at higher concentrations (50 µg/mL) led to increased Bax expression and decreased Bcl-2 expression, suggesting a potential induction of apoptosis, as well as increased levels of LC3 and Beclin 1, indicating a potential upregulation of autophagy-related proteins. These results demonstrate the various effects of Urtica dioica extract on C6 glioblastoma cell survival and protein levels, suggesting its potential as a brain cancer treatment.