Antitumorigenic and cytotoxic properties of an ethanol extract derived from Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS)

In this study, the antioxidant, cytotoxic, and antitumorigenic activities of a fractionated, ethanol extract derived from Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS), a plant indigenous to Korea, China, and Japan, were determined. Physicochemical analysis and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) results indicated that the active component of a Sephadex G-150-fractionated RVS extract (PII fraction) was a copper-containing glycoprotein, possibly a plant laccase. Antioxidant activity of the fractionated RVS extract, observed in both aqueous and lipid in vitro oxidation reactions using 1,1-diphenyl 2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, site-specific Fenton-reaction deoxyribose, and a model lipid emulsion test system, indicated an affinity for protection against hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals. Cultured mouse brain neurons were protected against glucose oxidase-induced hydroxyl radical in the presence of the fractionated RVS extract (e.g., 58% protection at 4.9 microM and 95% protection with 22.7 microM RVS). RVS was further shown to protect against in vitro Fenton-reaction-induced single- and double-strand scission in supercoiled plasmid DNA. Further testing for bioactivity of the fractionated RVS extract was based on the affinity to inhibit cell proliferation in cultured HeLa and CT-26 tumor cells. The presence of RVS resulted in 70% cell death after 24 h of incubation in both cell lines at a minimum concentration of 2.48 microM RVS. Data demonstrate multiple bioactive chemopreventative properties of a Sephadex G-150-fractionated extract derived from RVS.