Combinatory effects of the bioflavonoid apigenin with chemotherapeutic drugs on prostate, colon, and lung cancer cell lines.

摘要

Lung, prostate, and colon cancer are among the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Americans. Current chemotherapeutic regimens generally have toxic side effects leading to the death of normal cells. Polyphenols are naturally occurring compounds that can be found in fruits, vegetables and herbs. Apigenin is a polyphenolic compound that has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, apigenin was shown to inhibit the proliferation of several cancer cell lines. The combination of 15 uM apigenin and the chemotherapeutic drugs including doxorubicin, etoposide, mitomycin C, and 5-fluorouracil significantly decreased (P0.05) the IC50 to inhibit the proliferation of prostate cancer cell lines PC-3 and DU-145 more than the chemotherapeutic drugs alone. Similarly, the addition of apigenin greatly enhanced the sensitivity of colon cancer cell lines HCT-116 and colo-205 and lung cancer lines A549 and H460 to doxorubicin, mitomycin C, 5-fluorouracil, and cisplatin. We analyzed sensitivity via cell death and cell proliferation assays.