Vitex rotundifolia fractions induce apoptosis in human breast cancer cell line, MCF7, via extrinsic and intrinsic pathways

lt;p gt;Breast cancer is amongst frequently diagnosed cancer type throughout the world. Due to reduced efficacy of current chemotherapeutics, several natural products have been screened for better alternatives. The cytotoxic activity of fractions prepared from leaves extract of lt;em gt; Vitex rotundifolia lt;/em gt;( lt;em gt;V. rotundifolia lt;/em gt;) on human breast cancer cell line, MCF7 was studied. The fractions F1, F2, F3, and F5 of lt;em gt;V. rotundifolia lt;/em gt; produced concentrationdependent cytotoxic effects on MCF7 cell line. The relative potential of cytotoxicity of the fractions on MCF7 cell line was found to be F3 gt; F2 gt; F5 gt; F1. The active fractions induce apoptosis in MCF7 cell line determined by annexin V base assay. The phosphatidylserine externalization and the presence of DNA fragmentation in treated cells confirms the early and late apoptosis in treated cells.The lt;em gt;V. rotundifolia lt;/em gt; fractions induced apoptosis by both pathways; extrinsic pathways via activation of caspase8 and intrinsic pathways through enhanced bax/bcl2 ratio and activation of caspase3/7 and caspase9 proapoptotic proteins. Furthermore, chemical profiling indicates various phenolic, flavonoids, and terpenoids compounds in the active fractions. Thus, lt;em gt;V. rotundifolia lt;/em gt; might be a suitable candidate to investigate further and develop molecular targeted cancer therapeutics by understanding the fundamental mechanisms involved in the regulation of cell death in cancer cells.  lt;/p gt;