Hindawi Publishing Corporation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2012, Article ID 261971, 11 pages doi:10.1155/2012/261971 Research Article Momordica charantia Extract Induces Apoptosis in Human Cancer Cells through Caspase- and Mitochondria-Dependent Pathways Chia-Jung Li, 1 Shih-Fang Tsang, 2 Chun-Hao Tsai, 3 Hsin-Yi Tsai, 3 Jong-Ho Chyuan, 4 and Hsue-Yin Hsu 1, 3 1 Institute of Medical Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 970, Taiwan 2 Department of Anatomy, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 970, Taiwan 3 Department of Life Sciences, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 970, Taiwan 4 Section of Crop Improvement, Hualien District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Hualien 973, Taiwan Correspondence should be addressed to Hsue-Yin Hsu, hsueyin@mail.tcu.edu.tw Received 14 May 2012; Revised 24 August 2012; Accepted 5 September 2012 Academic Editor: Chun-Su Yuan Copyright © 2012 Chia-Jung Li et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Plants are an invaluable source of potential new anti-cancer drugs. Momordica charantia is one of these plants with both edible and medical value and reported to exhibit anticancer activity. To explore the potential effectiveness of Momordica charantia, methanol extract of Momordica charantia (MCME) was used to evaluate the cytotoxic activity on four human cancer cell lines, Hone-1 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, AGS gastric adenocarcinoma cells, HCT-116 colorectal carcinoma cells, and CL1-0 lung adenocarcinoma cells, in this study. MCME showed cytotoxic activity towards all cancer cells tested, with the approximate IC 50 ranging from 0.25 to 0.35 mg/mL at 24 h. MCME induced cell death was found to be time-dependent in these cells. Apoptosis was demonstrated by DAPI staining and DNA fragmentation analysis using agarose gel electrophoresis. MCME activated caspase-3 and enhanced the cleavage of downstream DFF45 and PARP, subsequently leading to DNA fragmentation and nuclear condensation. The apoptogenic protein, Bax, was increased, whereas Bcl-2 was decreased after treating for 24h in all cancer cells, indicating the involvement of mitochondrial pathway in MCME-induced cell death. These findings indicate that MCME has cytotoxic effects on human cancer cells and exhibits promising anti-cancer activity by triggering apoptosis through the regulation of caspases and mitochondria. 1. Introduction Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for millions of death each year. Previous stud- ies have examined the association between the intake of antioxidant-rich foods and beneficial effects related to the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other oxidative-stress-related chronic diseases [1, 2]. The highly reactive and bioactive phytochemical antioxidants in plants are postulated to be responsible, in part, for the protective effects of plant foods. Biochemically active phytochemicals found in plant-based foods also have many powerful biological properties that are not necessarily related to their antioxidant properties [3, 4]. Some cancer patients use agents derived from different plants or nutrients as complementary or alternative medicines, exclusively or con- currently with traditional chemotherapy and/or radiother- apy [5]. Although there are increasing numbers of drugs available for patients with cancer, the effects of many drug treatments are temporary and noncurative. Due to the need for new therapeutic options for cancer therapy, the discovery of food plants with medicinal effects has prompted studies evaluating possible anticancer agents in fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices [6]. Momordica charantia L. (bitter gourd), a member of the family Cucurbitaceae, is widely grown in tropical areas and