Combinational Treatment of Curcumin and Quercetin against Gastric Cancer MGC-803 Cells in Vitro

Molecules

Jian-Ye Zhang²  Min-Ting Lin¹  Meng-Jia Zhou²  Tao Yi²  Yi-Na Tang²  Si-Li Tang¹  Zhi-Jun Yang²  Zhong-Zhen Zhao²  Hu-Biao Chen² 

[1] School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, 195 Dongfeng Road West, Guangzhou 510182, China; E-Mails:;School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China; E-Mails:

关键词: combined effect;    quercetin;    curcumin;    apoptosis;    AKT;    ERK;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules200611524

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Gastric cancer remains a major health problem worldwide. Natural products, with stronger antitumor activity and fewer side effects, are potential candidates for pharmaceutical development as anticancer agents. In this study, quercetin and curcumin were chosen for testing and were applied separately and in combination to human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells. The MTT assay was used to evaluate cell growth inhibition. Annexin V-FITC/PI was carried out to measure apoptosis rate. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze mitochondrial membrane potential levels. Western blots were applied to detect expression of cytochrome c, total and phosphorylated ERK and AKT. Combined treatment with curcumin and quercetin resulted in significant inhibition of cell proliferation, accompanied by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), release of cytochrome c and decreased phosphorylation of AKT and ERK. These results indicate that the combination of curcumin and quercetin induces apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. Notably, effect of combined treatment with curcumin and quercetin on gastric cancer MGC-803 cells is stronger than that of individual treatment, indicating that curcumin and quercetin combinations have potential as anti-gastric cancer drugs for further development.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.