Kaempferia rotunda tuberous rhizome lectin induces apoptosis and growth inhibition of colon cancer cells in vitro

Kaempferia rotunda Linn. is a plant of ginger family and has many medicinal values in traditional applications, including as antimicrobial and anticancer agents. The present study aims to examine the anticancer activity of Kaempferia rotunda tuberous rhizome lectin (KRL, MW 29 ± 1.0 kDa) against colon cancer cells SW480 and SW48. KRL inhibited 67% and 59% of SW480 and SW48 cells growth respectively at the concentration of 1.0 mg/ml. The cells growth inhibition was a dose dependent manner. KRL treatments notably inhibited the colony formation capacity of the cancer cells. The surviving fractions of SW480 and SW48 cells treated with KRL significantly (p