Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Extraction and Purification of Polyphenols from Freeze-dried Berry Powder for the Treatment of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells In Vitro
Published on: July 5, 2017
Selective antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of flavonoids purified from Rhus verniciflua Stokes on normal
Young-Ok Son1, Kyung-Yeol Lee, Jeong-Chae Lee
1Division of Biological Sciences and Research Center of Bioactive Materials, 664-14, Dukjin-dong 1-ka, Dukjin-gu Chonju, 561756 Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Considerable attention is being concentrated on dietary flavonoids in developing novel cancer-preventive approaches due to their potential ability to induce selective apoptosis of cancer cells. In this study, we prepared a flavonoid-containing fraction from a crude acetone extract of Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS), traditionally used as a food additive and as an herbal medicine, and named RVS chloroform-methanol fraction (RCMF). We evaluated the effects of RCMF on proliferation and apoptosis using mouse embryonic primary hepatic cells (MPHC), embryonic normal hepatic cell line (BNL CL.2), and its SV40-mediated transformed cell line (BNL SV A.8). We also investigated the effects of RCMF on the antioxidant defense system in those cells. This study demonstrated that RCMF exhibited a selective growth inhibition and apoptosis induction on transformed cells. BNL SV A.8 cells were more sensitive to RCMF-mediated cytotoxicity than were MPHC or BNL CL.2. RCMF-mediated reduction of MnSOD activity and glutathione (GSH) content in BNL SV A.8 cells is thought to be associated with RCMF-induced apoptosis. Our findings suggest that RCMF is an agent which may be capable of inducing growth inhibition and apoptosis of hepatic tumor cells.
Insights
Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) extract selectively inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in transformed liver cells. This flavonoid-rich fraction shows potential for developing novel hepatic tumor treatments.
Area of Science:
- Phytochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Dietary flavonoids are investigated for cancer prevention due to their ability to induce selective apoptosis.
- Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS) is traditionally used in food and medicine, and contains flavonoids.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effects of an RVS flavonoid-rich fraction (RCMF) on the proliferation and apoptosis of normal and transformed hepatic cells.
- To investigate RCMF's impact on the antioxidant defense system in these cells.
Main Methods:
- Preparation of RVS chloroform-methanol fraction (RCMF).
- Treatment of mouse embryonic primary hepatic cells (MPHC), normal hepatic cell line (BNL CL.2), and transformed hepatic cell line (BNL SV A.8) with RCMF.
- Assessment of cell proliferation, apoptosis, MnSOD activity, and glutathione (GSH) content.
Main Results:
- RCMF demonstrated selective growth inhibition and apoptosis induction in transformed BNL SV A.8 cells compared to normal cells.
- BNL SV A.8 cells showed higher sensitivity to RCMF-induced cytotoxicity.
- RCMF reduced MnSOD activity and GSH content in BNL SV A.8 cells, correlating with apoptosis induction.
Conclusions:
- RCMF exhibits selective anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on hepatic tumor cells.
- The findings suggest RCMF's potential as an agent for inhibiting hepatic tumor cell growth and inducing apoptosis.
