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Fig. 4 | BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Fig. 4

From: Hibiscus flower extract selectively induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells and positively interacts with common chemotherapeutics

Fig. 4

Hibiscus extracts are selective for cancer and reduce toxicity of chemotherapeutics. a NHF cells were treated with various dosages of HE and (b) hibiscus combination treatments with taxol and assessed at 48 h. Results were obtained using image-based cytometry to assess the percentage of cells positive with fluorescence associated with Annexin V (green), PI (red), both (yellow), or negative for both Annexin V and PI (blue). Values are expressed as a mean ± SD from three independent experiments. The percentage of viable cells were graphed for both individual chemotherapeutic and combination chemotherapeutic treatments (graphs on right). c Fluorescence microscopy images of individual hibiscus treatments on NHF cells were taken at 48 h. Top panels: Brightfield and fluorescent merged images at 400x magnification. Bottom: Fluorescent images stained with Annexin V (green), PI (red), and Hoechst (blue) at 400× magnification. Scale bar is 50 μm. Images are representative of three independent experiments. Statistical calculations were performed using Two-Way ANOVA multiple comparison. *p < 0.05 vs. Control, **p < 0.01 vs. Control, ****p < 0.0001 vs. Control, @p < 0.05 vs. Individual Chemotherapy Treatment

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