Chemoprevention against hepatocellular carcinoma of Cornus officinalis in vitro.

The water extracts of Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zuce against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was studied for its chemopreventive potential. Three HCC cell lines (HepG2, SK-Hep1 and PLC/PRF/5) and three leukemic cell lines (U937, K562 and Raji) were tested with XTT assay. Extracts of C. officinalis inhibited all these HCC cells and leukemic cells at a concentration of 100 microg/ml (P < 0.05) and was dose-dependent (P < 0.0001). P53 (P< 0.0001) and Ras (P = 0.001) significantly affected its activity against HCC. Extracts of C. officinalis also possessed the anti-oxidant activity through free radicals scavenging activity at a concentration of 50 microg/ml (P < 0.05). In summary, our experiment implied that C. officinalis might be a candidate for chemopreventive agent against HCC through the antioxidant and anti-neoplastic effects.