Bromo chalcone (1-(4’-bromophenyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-propene-1-on) induces apoptosis on HeLa cancer cells

Chalcone and its derivatives are compounds known to have the potential activity of anticancer. We synthesized many para hydroxy chalcone derivates. One of these compounds was 1-(4’-bromophenyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-propene-1-on or BHM. This research aimed to investigate BHM as an anticancer in HeLa cervical cancer cells. The studies were cytotoxic tests and observation of apoptosis and Bcl-2 protein expression. The cytotoxicity was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide or MTT assay. Cells apoptosis were determined using Annexin V Apoptosis Detection Kits followed by observed used a flow cytometer. The Bcl-2 protein expression was observed using immunocytochemistry methods. The results showed that BHM has cytotoxic activity and have potential as an anticancer with an IC₅₀ value of 53 µM. BHM induced cell death of HeLa and suppressed the expression of Bcl-2 protein. This research needs to be studied further to investigate the mechanism pathway in inhibiting cancer cells. However, this study implies that 1-(4’-bromophenyl)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2-propene-1-on can be a drug candidate for treat cervix cancer.