Anti- Cancer Potential of Diosgenin, a Steroidal Saponin, against Human Oral Cancer Cells

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), affecting the lip and oral cavity, is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide with the highest morbidity rate in the North-Eastern region of India. The current treatment options including surgery and chemotherapy are plagued by adverse side-effects and emergence of chemo-resistance, particularly against drugs like cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil. The present study focuses on demonstrating the effects of diosgenin, a naturally occurring steroidal saponin, on the survival, proliferation, and migration of OSCC cells in vitro.

Preliminary in vitro screening of diosgenin in OSCC cells was performed using MTT, colony formation, cell cycle arrest, PI-FACS, live/dead, and wound-healing assays. In addition, the potential of diosgenin in regulating the expression of critical proteins involved in OSCC was evaluated using western blot analysis.

The present study shows that diosgenin exhibited selective anti-proliferative activity on OSCC cell lines SAS and HSC3 compared to normal kidney cell line HEK-293T. In addition, it enhances the chemosensitivity of SAS cells to cisplatin and 5-FU. This compound also displayed anti-clonogenic, cell cycle arrest, cytotoxic, and anti-migratory effects on SAS cells in a dose-dependent manner. Further, diosgenin regulated the expressions of COX-2, CXCR-4, VEGF, TWIST-1, p-AKT, and AKT, which are critical proteins for the development and progression of OSCC.

These findings support the therapeutic potential of diosgenin, thereby opening a new avenue for oral cancer therapy. Nonetheless, the data needs to be further validated in in vivo and clinical settings.