INHIBITORY EFFECTS OF FUCOXANTHIN, A NATURAL CAROTENOID, ON N-MYC EXPRESSION AND CELL-CYCLE PROGRESSION IN HUMAN-MALIGNANT TUMOR-CELLS

Fucoxanthin, a natural carotenoid prepared from brown algae, inhibited the growth of GOTO cells, a human neuroblastoma cell line. Fucoxanthin at 10 μg/ml reduced the growth rate of GOTO cells to 38% of the control at day 3 after drug treatment. Flowcytometric analysis revealed that fucoxanthin caused the arrest in the G0-G1 phase of cell cycle. Expression of N-myc gene was proved to be decreased by fucoxanthin as early as 4 h after treatment at 10 μg/ml and that may be important for the mechanism of anti-proliferative action of the carotenoid. © 1990.