Anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of umbelliferone in FaDu human oral squamous cell carcinomas

Umbelliferone has drawn significant interest for its potential therapeutic applications because of its diverse pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antiangiogenic, and wound-healing effects.However, its efficacy in oral cancer treatment remains unclear.This study investigated umbelliferone's apoptotic effect on FaDu human pharyngeal carcinoma cells.Using MTT assay and Western blot analysis, we evaluated the apoptotic effects of umbelliferone in FaDu human pharyngeal carcinoma cells.Umbelliferone decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner.Mechanistically, umbelliferoneinduced apoptosis was associated with increased Fas expression, caspase-8 and caspase-3 activation, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage.Furthermore, umbelliferone downregulated Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL expression, whereas it upregulated Bax and Bad expression.Our findings suggest that umbelliferone inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in FaDu human pharyngeal carcinoma cells through the death receptor-mediated and mitochondria-mediated intrinsic pathways.