Angelica decursiva has been used in Korean traditional medicine as an antitussive, an analgesic, an antipyretic and a cough remedy. However, its anti-cancer properties have not yet been well defined. In our current study, we report the cytotoxic activity and the mechanism of cell death induced by ethanol extracts of Angelica decursiva (EEAD) against the human oral cancer cell line, KB. Treatment of KB cells with EEAD induced apoptotic cell death in both a dose- and time-dependent manner as determined by MTT assay and DNA fragmentation. However, no cytotoxic effects of EEAD against human normal oral keratinocytes (HNOK) were evident. By western blot analysis, we found that apoptosis in KB cells is associated with a decrease in procaspase-7 and -9. In addition, the activation of caspase-7 was detectable in living KB cells by fluorescence microscopy. These results suggest that EEAD exhibits anti-cancer activity in KB cells via apoptosis and thus has potential as an anticancer agent in future drug development strategies.

• Myoung-Hwa Lee(Department of Oral Anatomy and Oral Biology Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Chosun University) Contributed equally
• Myung Mi Kim(Department of Oral Biochemistry and Oral Biology Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Chosun University) Contributed equally
• Joong-Ki Kook(Department of Oral Biochemistry and Oral Biology Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Chosun University)
• Do Kyung Kim(Department of Oral Physiology and Oral Biology Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Chosun University)
• Hye Ryun Kim(Department of Oral Physiology and Oral Biology Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Chosun University)
• Heung-Joong Kim(Department of Oral Anatomy and Oral Biology Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Chosun University)
• Chun Sung Kim(Department of Oral Biochemistry and Oral Biology Research Institute, School of Dentistry, Chosun University) Corresponding author