Background: This study was focused on assessing the phenolic content, and antioxidant properties of three distinct pawpaw species (Atwood, Susquehanna, and Sunflower), and to investigate effect of pawpaw on the cell viability of hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HCC)-derived from racially diverse patients. Hepatocellular carcinoma represents the predominant subtype of primary liver cancer and ranks as the fifth leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Given the considerable toxicity associated with current cancer treatments, there is a need for the emergence of alternative therapies that offer potent efficacy while minimizing side effects for liver cancer treatment.
Hypothesis: We hypothesized that because of its anti-inflammatory properties, pawpaw might be more effective in HCC cells.
Objective: The objective of present investigation was to characterize different varieties of pawpaw and explore the effects of pawpaw on proliferation of HepG2 (from Caucasian patient), and O/20 (from African American patient) HCC cell lines.
Methods: The samples of three Asimina triloba species namely, Atwood, Susquehanna, Sunflower, were acquired from University of Kentucky each originating from separate trees. The Total Polyphenols Content (TPC) was measured using Folin & Ciocalteu’s (FC) reagent. Oxygen scavenging capacities of the pawpaw extracts were determined using a DPPH and ABTS assays. The HepG2 cell line-derived from a Caucasian patient was purchased from ATCC (Manassas, VA) whereas 0/20 cell-derived from an African American patient was obtained from Dr. Devanand Sarkar laboratory at VCU. Effect of pawpaw extract on cell viability was measured using a WST-1 cell proliferation assay.
Results: Atwood sample has the highest amount of TPC (6.08 mg GAE/g Powder) as compared to the Susquehanna (4.71 mg GAE/g Powder) and the Sunflower (5.11 mg GAE/g Powder) samples. DPPH free radical scavenging capacity of the sunflower sample was 15.06 TE μM/g dry powder, significantly differing from the values of the Atwood sample (12.23 TE μM/g dry powder) and the Susquehanna sample (11.94 TE μM/g dry powder). Similarly, the ABTS scavenging activity showed the highest value in the sunflower sample (20.59 TE μM/g dry sample), followed by Atwood (14.65 TE μM/g dry powder) and Susquehanna (12.71 TE μM/g dry powder). Both cell lines were more sensitive to Atwood treatment followed by Susquehanna and Sunflower samples. The calculated IC 50 of the Atwood was 97.4 μg/ml, and128 μg/ml for the
Susquehanna samples in HepG2 cells. Similar findings were observed in O/20 cells. Atwood (90 μg/ml), and Susquehanna (110 μg/ml) treatment reduced the cell viability by 50%, whereas the sunflower samples exhibited a weak effect in both cell lines.
Conclusion: In conclusion, our data suggested that Atwood pawpaw extracts were more effective than Susquehanna, Sunflower; however, Atwood equally exhibited anticancer activities in HCC cell lines- derived from causation or African American patients. Further research is required to identify and characterize the active compounds from the pawpaw fruits for potential therapeutic use and for a better understanding of the underlying mechanism.
December 28, 2025