Anticancerous effects of Polygonum avicular exert through Fas ligand and Bcl2

Background: herbal medicine is a new complementary strategy for treating diseases such as cancer. however, its mechanism of action is not clear yet. this study investigates antitumor efficacy of polygonum avicular extract on mcf-7 cell line. methods: mcf-7 cells were treated with different concentrations of (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300,350 400 ng/μl) polygonum avicular at different time intervals (6, 12, 24, and 48 hrs). in order to evaluate the expression level of fasl and bcl2 genes, rt-pcr technique was employed. results: the obtained results demonstrate that expression of fasl gene was increased in polygonum avicular treated cells in comparison to control group. down-regulation of bcl2 expression was observed during the treatment. conclusion: polygonum aviculare herbal extract may induce apoptosis through up-regulation of fasl and down-regulation of bcl2 gene, however, its complete mechanism of action must be elucidated.