Gallic Acid Induces Apoptosis in Ovarian Cancer Cells

Ovarian cancer is the 5th leading cause of cancer deaths for women in America. Various pharmacological activities of gallic acid (GA) have been reported, including anti-inflammatory, antiatherosclerotic, anticarcinogenic, and antioxidant activities. Several studies have also demonstrated that GA selectively induced cancer cell death by apoptosis. In this research, the inhibitory effect of GA on ovarian cancers cells (OVCAR-3) was investigated. Apoptosis was visualized using a ZEISS fluorescence microscope after cancer cells were stained. Cell viability was analysed with a MTS-based Cell Titer 96 AQueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay. Expression of p53 and Bad was analyzed by Western Blotting. Our study showed that GA induced apoptosis of ovarian cancer cell line (OVCAR-3) and enhanced the Caspase 3/7 activities at 10 µM. At 5 µM, GA significantly inhibited cancer cell viability. GA increased the expression of p53 at 20 µM and Bad at 10 µM in ovarian cancer cells. Our results showed GA has great potential for angio-prevention and treatment of ovarian cancers.