Anti-proliferative and anti-carcinogenic enzyme-inducing activities of delphinidin in hepatoma cells

Delphinidin, an aglycone form of anthocyanins, was demonstrated to have anti-carcinogenic potential. The compound at 50 mu g/mL caused a significant increase of quinone reductase activity, an anti-carcinogenic marker enzyme, in mouse hepatoma cell lines (Hepalc1c7 and BPRcl). Delphinidin enhanced the expression of other detoxifying or antioxidant enzymes including glutathione S-transferase, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, heme oxygenase 1, and glutathione reductase. It suppressed the proliferation of murine hepatoma cells in a dose-dependent manner, with approximately IC50 of 70 mu g/mL. These results suggest that delphinidin might be useful for cancer prevention.