Objective: Acute leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Due to chemotherapy drug side effects, the use ofnatural compounds is essential. The Cichorium intybus L. is a natural compound that shows antitumor and antioxidant effects in various cancerous cell lines. However, its impact on leukemic cells is ambiguous. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the Cichorium extract, alone and in combination with Doxorubicin (DOX), on apoptosis induction in myeloid (NALM-6) and lymphoid (KG-1) cell lines.

Materials and Methods: Hydroalcoholic extract of Cichorium intybus L (C. intybus ) was prepared.

Results: Our results displayed that C. intybus could induce cytotoxic effects in KG-1, Nalm-6 cell with IC50 values of 400 ±1.7 and 275 ±5.6 µg/ml CIE has a significant apoptotic impact on Nalm-6 and KG-1 cell lines of ALL and AML in a dose and time-dependent manner (p<0.05). Real-time PCR results indicated a notable increase in BAX, CASPAS 3, 9 gene expression, and decreased BCL2 gene expression (p <0.05).

Conclusions: C. intybus, Dox, and their combination exerted a more potent apoptotic effect on the Nalm-6 cell line than the KG-1 cell line. Cichorium upgraded the cytotoxic effect of DOX on Nalm-6 and KG-1 cell lines and could be suggested as a chemotherapy supplement in acute leukemia.