Aqueous Extract of Sparganii Rhizoma and Curcumae Rhizoma Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits Migration in Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Sparganii Rhizoma and Curcumae Rhizoma (SRCR) are natural herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat tumors and activate blood circulation. Previous studies have shown that SRCR possesses notable antitumor activity; however, the mechanism underlying anticancer activity in human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has yet to be fully elucidated. The risk factors of OSCC include smoking, alcohol consumption, poor oral hygiene, and human papillomavirus infection. OSCC is highly metastatic and responds poorly to chemotherapy; thus, alternative treatment options are imperative. In this study, we found that SRCR induced death in OSCC cells but not in normal cells (HGF-1 cells). SRCR has also shown to induce the production of reactive oxygen species in OSCC cells, sequentially promoting calcium release and stress in the endoplasmic reticulum, which resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction and subsequent apoptosis. Furthermore, SRCR has shown to inhibit the migration of OSCC cells by reducing matrix metalloproteinase-12 and -13. Our findings demonstrate that SRCR exerts anticancer activities in OSCC by inducing cell apoptosis and suppressing cell migration.