Antiproliferative Effects of Galium Aparine in SNU-1 Gastric Cancer Cells and Its Association with Growth Signaling Pathways

Galium aparine (G. aparine) is a plant with a long history of ethnopharmacological use and has been investigated for various biological activities, including potential anticancer effects. The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro effects of G. aparine extract on SNU-1 human gastric carcinoma cells and to examine its potential role in the inhibition of cell proliferation. Our experimental setup involved exposing SNU-1 cells to G. aparine (12.5–200 µg/mL) for 24 hours. Cell viability was then evaluated using the XTT assay, and ELISA measured the levels of growth signal factors mTOR, HER-2, EGFR, and ERK-1/2. The XTT assay revealed a significant reduction in cell viability (p<0.001). Furthermore, ELISA measurements showed that G. aparine treatment notably decreased the levels of crucial growth signal factors, including mTOR, HER-2, EGFR, and ERK-1/2 (p<0.05 to p<0.01). These findings suggest that the antiproliferative activity of Galium aparine against gastric cancer cells may be associated with the modulation of key growth signaling pathways involved in cancer cell survival and proliferation. This highlights the potential of G. aparine as a natural agent that could be further investigated as a complementary or alternative approach for gastric cancer research.