earticle

영어

Curcumin (diferuloyl methane), originated rhizomes of Curcuma longa L. has been suggested as an anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic agent. In the present study, modulation of cytotoxic effects of curcumin on HeLa cells by different types of antioxidants was investigated. Cytotoxic effects of curcumin were significantly enhanced in the presence of superoxide dismutase (SOD) by decreasing IC50 to 15.4 from 26.0 uM after 24 hr incubation; the activity was not altered by catalase. The effect of curcumin was significantly less pronounced in the presence of 4 mM N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Low concentration (<1 mM) of NAC, however, increased the efficacy of curcumin. Cysteine and B-mercaptoethanol that have a thiol group, showed the similar biphasic patterns as NAC for modulating curcumin cytotoxicity, which was, however, constantly enhanced by ascorbic acid, a non-thiol antioxidant. In the presence of SOD, ascorbic acid, and 0.5 mM NAC, cellular levels of curcumin were significantly increased by 31-66%, whereas 4 mM NAC decreased the level. The present results indicate that thiol reducing agents showed a biphasic effect in modulating cytotoxicity of curcumin; it is likely that their thiol group is reactive with curcumin especially at high concentrations.