Abstract
The study on incorporation of [3H](−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) into human lung cancer cell line PC-9 indicated that the [3H]EGCG incorporation was significantly enhanced by (−)-epicatechin, an inert tea polyphenol without a galloyl moiety. (−)-Epicatechin enhanced apoptosis, growth inhibition of PC-9 cells, and inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-α release from BALB/c-3T3 cells by EGCG and other tea polyphenols with a galloyl moiety in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the effects of EGCG on induction of apoptosis were also synergistically enhanced by other cancer-preventive agents, such as sulindac and tamoxifen. This paper reports significant evidence that whole green tea is a more reasonable mixture of tea polyphenols for cancer prevention in humans than EGCG alone and that it is even more effective when it is used in combination with other cancer preventives.
Footnotes
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
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↵1 This work was supported by the following Grants-in-Aid: for Scientific Research on Priority Areas for Cancer Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (Japan); for a 2nd-Term Comprehensive 10-Year Strategy for Cancer Control and for Comprehensive Research on Aging and Health from Ministry of Health and Welfare (Japan); and for Selectively Applied and Developed Research from Saitama Prefecture (Japan). This work was also supported by grants from the Uehara Memorial Life Science Foundation, the Smoking Research Fund, and the Plant Science Research Foundation of the Faculty of Agriculture (Kyoto University).
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↵2 Present address: The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030.
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↵3 To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Saitama Cancer Center Research Institute, Ina, Kitaadachi-gun, Saitama 362-0806, Japan. Phone: 81-48-722-1111; Fax: 81-48-722-1739; E-mail: hfuji{at}saitama-cc.go.jp
- Received September 2, 1998.
- Accepted November 10, 1998.
- ©1999 American Association for Cancer Research.
Volume 59, Issue 1
