Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Extract Inhibits NRF2 Resulting in Reduced Ovarian Cancer Cell Proliferation

Abstract

Garlic, which primarily composed of diallyldisulfide and diallyltrisulfide, has been shown to inhibit cancer cell proliferation. Nuclear Factor receptor 1 (NRF2) is the master regulator of many detoxifying enzymes including glutathione. In this study, human ovarian cancer cell lines OVCAR3 and OVCAR4 were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 1% penicillin/streptomycin under 5% CO2 at 37°C. Prior to treatment, the cells were incubated for 24 hours in this medium, after which they were treated with Tbhq or Garlic Extract (Carbosynth-Biosynth) at the required final concentrations. Subsequently, a series of assays, including cytotoxicity assessment, ROS detection and glutathione assay, were conducted. The findings indicated that garlic extract reduced cell growth, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and decreased total glutathione across all tested cell lines. These results suggest that garlic may impede the growth of ovarian cancer cells through elevation of ROS and depletion of glutathione, presenting a potential new strategy for targeting cancer cell proliferation via garlic-induced NRF2 suppression.