Cancer, characterized by uncontrolled tumor cells growth, is a highly fatal disease worldwide. Molecular simplification of natural compounds is a modern and less costly strategy in drug discovery. Mono-carbonyl analogs of curcumin (MACs) are curcumin-originated anticancer agents possessing potent bioactivity in vitro. In this work, the cytotoxicity of methoxyl-substituted MACs toward HepG2 cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Among these, 2,2′-methoxyl MAC exhibited the most potent anti-proliferation activity, and it could promote the ROS production, redox imbalance, lipid peroxidation, the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, and ultimately lead to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of HepG2 cells. These results suggest that enhancing ROS generation may be a potent strategy for the expansion of new anti-hepatocellular carcinoma agents.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
G. Y. Zhou, Y. X. Yi, L. X. Jin, et al., Biomed. Pharmacother., 81, 318 – 328 (2016).
J. Yang, S. S. Meng, Y. J. Zhao, et al., Pharm. Chem J., 53, 593 – 597 (2019).
R. Romagnoli, M. K. Salvador, S. S. Ortegaa, et al., Eur. J. Med. Chem., 143, 683 – 698 (2018).
E. A. Crane and K. Gademann, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 55, 3882 – 3902 (2019).
G. Y. Liu, Y. Z. Sun, N. Zhou, et al., Eur. J. Med. Chem., 112, 157 – 63 (2016).
G. Y. Liu, Q. Zhai, J. Z. Chen, et al., Eur. J. Pharmacol., 786, 161 – 168 (2016).
F. Dai, G. Y. Liu, Y. Li, et al., Free Radic. Biol. Med., 85, 127 – 137 (2015).
J. Yang, J. Li, X. Y. Qu, et al., Lat. Am. J. Pharm., 38, 907 – 917 (2019).
W. W. Mu, P. X. Li, Y. Liu, et al., RSC Advances, 10, 42128 (2020).
J. Yang, W. W. Mu, and G. Y. Liu, Eur. J. Pharmacol., 888, 173396 (2020).
J. Yang, W. W. Mu, Y. X. Cao, et al., Bioorg. Chem., 104, 104273 (2020).
G. Liang, L. Shao, Y. Wang, et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem., 17, 2623 – 2631 (2009).
L. X. Zhang, X. W. Wang, R. Cueto, et al., Redox Biol., 26, 101284 (2019).
S. Galadari, A. Rahman, S. Pallichankandy, et al., Free Radic. Biol. Med., 104, 144 – 164 (2017).
A. B. Kunnumakkara, P. Anand, and B. B. Aggarwal, Cancer Lett., 269, 199 – 225 (2008).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Li, PX., Li, YM., Mu, WW. et al. 2,2′-Methoxyl Mono-Carbonyl Curcumin Promotes HEPG2 Cell Apoptosis and ROS Generation. Pharm Chem J 56, 614–618 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11094-022-02685-0
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11094-022-02685-0