Natural products are widely used in the treatment of cancer due to the side effects of chemotherapeutics, and a large number of natural compounds have been reported to have anticancer activities in different types of cancer. The aim of the study was to analyze the antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of capsaicin and alpha-lipoic acid on prostate cancer cells in silico and in vitro. The effects of capsaicin and alpha-lipoic acid on the proliferation of prostate cancer cells were assessed using MTT cell viability assays. Apoptotic protein levels were measured using Western blot analysis. Ligand–protein potential interactions of alpha-lipoic acid and capsaicin with survivin and bax proteins were examined using CB-Dock2 and SwissDock software. Capsaicin and alpha-lipoic acid significantly inhibited the proliferation of both prostate cancer cell lines in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Our data revealed that various concentrations of capsaicin, alpha-lipoic acid and their combinations caused remarkable downregulation of survivin expression on prostate cancer cells. According to the Vina scores, alpha-lipoic acid and capsaicin have the potential to interact strongly with survivin and bax proteins. We suggest that both natural compounds have the potential for treating prostate cancer according to the in vitro and in silico results.
MERAL et al. (Sat,) studied this question.