apoptosis-inducing effect of hesperidin on breast cancer cell line mcf7

Hesperidin is a flavanone present in citrus fruits, such as oranges and lemons. it exerts non-toxic activities in normal cells; however, it has been reported to suppress cell proliferation in several cancer types. moreover, it was shown that dietary hesperidin acts as an anti-carcinogenic agent for some tumors. in the present study, we investigated the effect of hesperidin on breast cancer cell line mcf7 and also its effects on the expression of apoptosis-related genes in this cell line.mcf7 cells were divided into 4 groups, including 3 study groups and 1 control group. each study group was treated with 50, 75, or 100 μg/ml hesperidin, while the control group was left untreated. the samples underwent real-time pcr using the primers specific for bcl-2 and bax, as the study genes, while gapdh was used as the control.according to our findings, hesperidin caused a significant decrease in bcl-2 mrna levels at all the doses used in the study groups compared to the control group (p < 0.002). the observed decrease was dose-dependent. also, hesperidin induced a significant overexpression of bax when used in doses of 75 and 100 µg/ml in comparison to the control group.the present study proved the significant apoptosis-inducing effect of hesperidin on the breast cancer cell line mcf7.