The Effects of the Herbal Enzyme Bromelain Against Breast Cancer Cell Line GI-101A

Bromelain is a proteinase derived from the stem of pineapple and has been studied for its anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, and antimetastatic properties. Bromelain has also been known to significantly reduce local tumor growth and to raise the impaired cytotoxicity of monocytes in the immune system against tumor cells. The goal of this project is to advance the mechanistic knowledge of herbal remedies and to confirm the already known antimetastatic properties of Bromelain. The MTS assay method was used 24 hours after Bromelain treatment to detect the cell death. The data show that after 1 µM of Bromelain treatment, the population of GI101A cells is significantly reduced by up to 70%. Using the M30 Apoptosense assay, levels of the protein cytokeratin 18 (CK18) were measured to detect any apoptotic activity. After 10 µL of Bromelain treatment, CK18 levels increased and a large number of apoptotic cell bodies were observed. The antitumor effects of Bromelain are mainly involved in cancer cell division by the induction of apoptosis.