anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of beta-ionone in human leukemia cell line k562

Background: beta-ionone is an aroma compound found in the rosaceae family. some evidence supported that beta-ionone has a great potential for cancer prevention. to date, the anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of beta-ionone in human leukemia cell line k562 were not studied. objectives: hence, we investigated whether beta-ionone could inhibit cell growth and induce apoptosis in the k562 cells. materials and methods: in this experimental study, human leukemia cell line k562 was cultured and anti-proliferation effect of beta-ionone with different doses (25 - 400 µm) at different times (24 - 96 hours) on treated cells was evaluated by the mtt assay. to determine apoptosis rate, the hoechst 33342 staining and flow cytometry was performed. results: the mtt assay showed that beta-ionone inhibited proliferation of k562 cells in a dose-dependent manner significantly (p = 0.0008). moreover, the increased apoptotic rate was found after incubation of k562 cells with 200 µm beta-ionone. the hoechst staining and flow cytometry analysis indicated that beta-ionone could increase apoptosis of k562 cells in a dose-dependent manner. conclusions: the results demonstrated that beta-ionone has anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects on k562 cells, and in the future may be used in the treatment of some leukemia sub-types.