ANTIPROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY AND POLYPHENOL ANALYSIS IN TOMATO (SOLANUM LYCOPERSICON)

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the top three causes of cancer death worldwide, with a poor response to pharmacological treatment. Doxorubicin, an antineoplastic chemotherapeutic medication used frequently to treat advanced HCC owing to its antitumor effects, has demonstrated insufficient efficacy, with a 15-20 % response rate. Solanum lycopersicum, or tomato, originated from the Solanaceae family. This study intended to investigate the polyphenol distribution in S. lycopersicum and antiproliferative activity against liver cancer cell lines. Antiproliferative effects were determined using the MTT assay and cell morphology analysis using the AO/PI double staining. Caffeic and gallic acids displayed the most abundant phenolic acids in S. lycopersicum extract. The ethanolic extract induced cytotoxicity against the HepG2 cell line with an IC50 value of 48.0 µg/mL. The percentage of cells in the G2/M phase reduced significantly (p < 0.05) from 18.8 % to 6.2 % at higher concentration (72 g/mL) for 48 hours of treatment. There was a significant (p < 0.05) two-fold increment in cytochrome c level in the cytosol of HepG2 cells following exposure to 24 µg/mL of S. lycopersicum extract for 24 hours. The present study showed that the ethanolic extract of S. lycopersicum inhibits the initiation and progression of liver cancer cell lines due to its high phenolic content. These findings show that plant phenolics have both preventative and therapeutic cancer-fighting potential, necessitating additional research.