Abstract: Purpose: To investigate the extraction and purification of long chain bases from tilapia head (TH-LCB) and to assess their anti-tumor activity in vivo. Methods: The long chain bases were extracted into an organic solvent and purified. In addition, the anti-tumor activity of TH-LCB was detected by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Annexin V assay, cell cycle analysis and Western blot. Results: TH-LCB significantly reduced the viability of K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner. After treatment with TH-LCB for 24 and 48 h, its half maximal inhibitory concentration were 42.207 and 39.494 μg/mL, respectively. TH-LCB increased the apoptotic rate, indicating that it reduced cell viability by inducing apoptosis in K562 cells. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed that TH-LCB caused accumulation cells in the sub-G0/G1 phase, being an indicative of apoptosis. Furthermore, TH-LCB also significantly increased the expression of caspase-3 in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: TH-LCB can inhibit the proliferation of K562 cells through inducing apoptosis, which may be correlated with the activation of caspase-3.

Key words: long chain bases from tilapia head, K562 cell, apoptosis, cell cycle, caspase-3