Growth and Telomerase Inhibition of SK-MEL 28 Melanoma Cell Line by a Plant Flavonoid, Apigenin

The plant flavonoids, including apigenin which is found in especially high concentrations in edible plants, are reported to protect against chronic diseases including several types of cancer. We observed that apigenin inhibited not only the growth of human melanoma cell line SK-MEL 28 but also the telomerase activity. We also noted the telomerase activity inhibition by genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor found in soybean, which suggests that the telomerase activity of SK-MEL 28 cells may be regulated by the protein phosphorylation. Furthermore, we observed that apigenin induced SK-MEL 28 cell apoptosis with p53 upregulation. Taken together, our results indicate that apigenin plays a role as an antimelanoma component in edible plants.