BROMELAIN PLUS PEROXIDASE FROM PINEAPPLE INDUCES APOPTOSIS VIA MITOCHONDRIAL DEPENDENT PATHWAY IN LYMPHOMA CELLS

Bromelain is a protease present in pineapple fruit and stem. It is reported that commercially available pure bromelain has anticancer, anti-inflammatory and other therapeutic effects. But there are few reports available on the biological activity of bromelain along with peroxidase which is present in pineapple fruit extract. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of bromelain with peroxidase from pineapple fruit against lymphoma cell line in in-vitro. Pineapple was purchased from the local market from Tripura. Bromelain isolated along with peroxidase and enzyme activity tested with the substrate. In-vitro cytotoxicity was determined by MTT assay, and apoptosis was determined by fluorescence microscopy, DNA fragmentation assay and by western blot analysis. Fluorescence microscopy analysis and the MTT assay showed significant apoptosis of lymphoma cell after treated with bromelain along with peroxidase in a dose- and time-dependent manner and was more apoptotic than bromelain alone. This was further confirmed by DNA fragmentation assay. Furthermore, western blotting analysis confirmed the mitochondrial pathway is involved in apoptosis of lymphoma cells. We reported for the first time that the efficiency of apoptosis of bromelain along with peroxidase is much higher than the only bromelain. This result may hint to use bromelain plus peroxidase from pineapple as a potent natural antitumor agent.