Synergistic inhibition of cancer cell proliferation with a combination of δ-tocotrienol and ferulic acid.

Abstract

Rice bran consists of many functional compounds and thus much attention has been focused on the health benefits of its components. Here, we investigated the synergistic inhibitory effects of its components, particularly δ-tocotrienol (δ-T3) and ferulic acid (FA), against the proliferation of an array of cancer cells, including DU-145 (prostate cancer), MCF-7 (breast cancer), and PANC-1 (pancreatic cancer) cells. The combination of δ-T3 and FA markedly reduced cell proliferation relative to δ-T3 alone, and FA had no effect when used alone. Although δ-T3 induced G1 arrest by up-regulating p21 in PANC-1 cells, more cells accumulated in G1 phase with the combination of δ-T3 and FA. This synergistic effect was attributed to an increase in the cellular concentration of δ-T3 by FA. Our results suggest that the combination of δ-T3 and FA may present a new strategy for cancer prevention and therapy.

• Authors: Takahiro Eitsuka, Naoto Tatewaki, Hiroshi Nishida, Tadao Kurata, Kiyotaka Nakagawa, Teruo Miyazawa
• Journal: Biochemical and biophysical research communications (Biochem Biophys Res Commun) Vol. 453 Issue 3 Pg. 606-11 (Oct 24 2014) ISSN: 1090-2104 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25285637 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Coumaric Acids
• Vitamin E
• tocotrienol, delta
• ferulic acid

Topics

• Cell Line, Tumor
• Cell Proliferation (drug effects)
• Coumaric Acids (pharmacology)
• Drug Synergism
• Humans
• Neoplasms (pathology)
• Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Vitamin E (analogs & derivatives, pharmacology)