curcumin and anethole

Chemopreventative phytochemicals having antitumour and antioxidant properties can overcome problems of chemoresistance and nonspecific toxicity towards normal cells that are associated with platinum-based chemotherapy against cancer. These agents exert their effects by bringing into play numerous cellular proteins that in turn affect multiple steps in pathways leading to tumourigenesis. In this study, combinations of two cytotoxic phytochemicals anethole and curcumin were applied in binary combination with platinum drugs cisplatin and oxaliplatin to three epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines: A2780 (parent), A2780(cisR) (cisplatin-resistant) and A2780(ZD0473R) (ZD0473-resistant). Cell viability was quantified using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay and the combined drug action was analyzed based on the equations derived by Chou and Talalay (1984). Greatest synergism was observed when the phytochemical was added first followed by the platinum drug 2 h later and additiveness to antagonism in combined drug action was observed when the two compounds were administered as a bolus. If confirmed in vivo, the appropriate sequenced combinations of platinum with the phytochemicals may provide a means of overcoming drug resistance.

Topics: Allylbenzene Derivatives; Anisoles; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; Cisplatin; Curcumin; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Drug Synergism; Female; Humans; Organoplatinum Compounds; Ovarian Neoplasms; Oxaliplatin; Phytotherapy

The interaction between coffee (100 mg freeze-dried home brew/kg body weight) and dietary constituents was assessed for anti-genotoxic effects against cyclophosphamide, N-methyl-N-nitro-N- nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), N-nitroso-N-ethylurea, mitomycin C and urethane (URE) in the mouse bone marrow micronucleus test. Combinations of dietary constituents consisting of (1) chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, ellagic acid and ferulic acid, (2) beta-carotene, curcumin and alpha-tocopherol, (3) chlorogenic acid, curcumin, alpha-tocopherol, anethole and eugenol, and (4) beta-carotene, curcumin, ellagic acid and chlorogenic acid were used in this study. Before the genotoxin was injected i.p., identical groups of mice were orally administered either vehicle control, coffee, dietary constituents, or coffee plus dietary constituents. Co-administration of coffee with the dietary constituents enhanced the anti-genotoxic effect compared with that of either coffee or the dietary constituents alone. Two-factor analysis of variance of the data suggests that there is a significant synergistic interaction between coffee and the dietary constituents for anti-genotoxic effects against MNNG (combination 1 and 2) and URE (combination 4).

Topics: Allylbenzene Derivatives; Animals; Anisoles; Antimutagenic Agents; Antioxidants; beta Carotene; Bone Marrow; Caffeic Acids; Carotenoids; Chlorogenic Acid; Coffee; Coumaric Acids; Curcumin; Diet; DNA Damage; Ellagic Acid; Eugenol; Flavoring Agents; Food-Drug Interactions; Male; Mice; Micronucleus Tests; Mutagens; Vitamin E