Anti-hepatoma activity of resveratrol in vitro

Aim: To study the anti-tumor effect of resveratrol alone and the synergistic effects of resveratrol with 5-FU on the growth of H-22 cells line in vitro. Methods. The number of cells was measured by MTT method, the morphological changes of H-22 cells were investigated under microscopy and electron microscopy. Results: Resveratrol inhibited the growth of hepatoma cells line H-22 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. IC50 of the resveratrol on H-22 cells was 6.57mg.L-1. The synergistic antintumor effects of resveratrol with 5-FU increased to a greater extent than for H-22 cells treated with 5-FU alone (70.2% vs 28.4%) (P<0.05). Under microscope and electron microscope, characteristics of apoptosis such as typical apoptotic bodies were commonly found in tumor cells in the drug-treated groups. Conclusion: Resveratrol can suppresses the growth of H-22 cells in vitro, its anti-tumor activity may occur through the induction of apoptosis.