Anticancer property of β-sitosterol studied in MG 63 osteosarcoma cell line

Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer that usually develops in the osteoblast cells, which are responsible for making new bone tissue. It is a high-grade primary skeletal cancer caused by spindle cells of mesenchymal origin that deposit immature osteoid matrix. Phytochemicals and their derivatives are promising options to improve treatment efficiency in cancer patients and decrease adverse reactions. β-sitosterol is a prominent dietary phytosterol found in beans, nuts, and seeds known for its significant pharmacological properties. In the present study and attempt has been made to evaluate the anticancer properties of β sitosterol in MG 63 Osteosarcoma cell line. The MTT assay revealed a significant decrease in cell viability of MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells upon treatment with β-sitosterol in a dose-dependent manner. This reduction in cell viability indicates the potential of β-sitosterol to exert an anticancer effect against osteosarcoma cells. There was dose dependent decrease in percentage of cell viability. The cell viability was around 20% in 320 μg/ml indicating the fact that β-sitosterol can act as cytotoxic drug against cancer cells. Treatment with the β sitosterol indicated a marked inhibition in cell viability indicating its antiproliferative nature. DAPI staining revealed changes in nuclear morphology, such as condensation or fragmentation, which are characteristic of apoptotic cells. The result obtained in Docking analysis of β sitosterol and Bcl-2 indicate that the Binding Energy for beta sitosterol and Bcl-2 shows -7.7 kcal/mol and forms four hydrophobic interactions with ARG107, LEU201 and PHE104. Therefore, β sitosterol acts as BCL2 inhibitors which holds great promise for the use of the compound in treating cancer.