Objectives: This study was conducted to confirm the anticancer effect of Torilis Japonica (TJ) on cervical cancer and to determine whether the effect was apoptosis.
Methods: In this study, the effect of TJ extract on toxicity, mitochondrial morphology, nuclear morphological changes, Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway were investigated in HeLa cell, human cervical cancer cell.
Results: The cytotoxicity, ratio of cells with nuclear changes to the total number of cells, and P38 phosphorylation increased in a concentration-dependent manner after administration of TJ extract. The length of mitochondria and ERK phosphorylation in HeLa cells decreased in a concentration-dependent manner after administration of TJ extract.
Conclusions: TJ extract has an anticancer effect on cervical cancer cells, which is presumed to be due to apoptosis, and showed potential as a future cervical cancer treatment.